Thanks to Chris Brogan for this blogging idea.
~~~
Facebook at the beginning of high school? Scandelous.
Facebook at the end of high school? Hot'n'Cold.
Facecbook at the beginning of college? Addiction.
Facebook at the end of college? [insert conflict]
I enjoy facebook, don't get me wrong, but it has been causing some serious conflict for me as of lately. I love interacting with my close friends, stumbling across friends from years past & seeing what they're up to, and the occasional creep session never hurt anyone either. However - as I transition from a college student to a professional looking for work, I am left wondering -- how much access to Facebook do hiring companies have? How comprehensive are those privacy blocks I have set up? Is it lazy of me not to clean it up or paranoid of me to delete 80% of my current profile content?
I am not sure where the line is here. Although I am not a party-animal college student, I do enjoy the occasional adult beverage and I frequently find myself busting moves on the dance floor when I do. I am not ashamed of these things, I believe that every one should have some fun now and then. But - it is not something I want included in my 'applicant review' process. I'd be glad to explain it to the hiring personnel if they wanted to listen, but fact of the matter is they don't. And they don't have to. There are plenty of other applicants out there with clean Facebook profiles or without one all together.
Recently I changed my last name to my middle name, in hopes that it would unassociate me with the combination of my first and last name in a search. I google myself often, to see the interesting things that come up. I have changed all my privacy settings on Twitter as well as Facebook. Yet somehow I still feel exposed. Maybe it is the career counselor's that I work with who are rubbing off on me and making me paranoid, or perhaps its my inner-professional hinting to me that it is time to grow up. This 'growing up' thing is an entirely new issue, because I know plenty of grown ups who use Facebook perhaps more than myself.
Well as I am left here thinking about my conflict on Facebook, I'd love your feedback and opinions. Please share.
~A510life
