Protect Your Online Reputation…Always…Forever
If you dig deep enough, you can uncover embarrassing dirt on anyone. But I would like to respectfully disagree with Techcrunch founder Michael Arrington’s assertion that “reputation is dead.”
Do I think that a picture of a bong-wielding 17-year-old should jeopardize his/her livelihood when they’re 30? Absolutely not. But I would also like to submit the fact that there are plenty of 17 year olds who do not inhale…or are at least smart enough to not get photographed.
A quick Google search of a recent hire at my full-time gig revealed an ugly message board posting from several years back. The guy who is now my coworker posted on a sports Website that the fan of another team was a “f*g” who should “go suck a d*ick.”
Now while Michael Arrington might forgive the public message, and apparently my HR department does too, I would not. Maybe I’m not a nice person. Or maybe I am looking for the cream of the crop – the people who understand that a censor is necessary to live a good and noble life. If you were working for me, I would want you to rely on this “filter” when making business decisions.
The more of these transgressions you have, the more you limit yourself from future options. Why risk excluding anyone? I argue that individuals must change the way they think to assume that everything they do and say (maybe even think!) will end up as part of the public record.
I’m not thumping a bible or suggesting you live a vanilla life. I’m just warning today’s generation that they should not assume society will evolve towards a mentality of forgiveness. We’ve never done it before, so why would we start now?
I fear a society that is more forgiving of the reputation which is exactly where we are headed. No one is calling young people out from under the table on their actions therefore, there are no consequenses and their role models are people on reality TV. These kids are the future of our management, society, and policital leaders, community leaders. I hate to sound like my parents but I worry about whether we will be the demise of our own moral compasses because we no longer have one in this society! If you look at anything going on leaders are faultering everywhere whether in their personal lives, their careers because of corruption, who can we even look up to these days? It used to be that people wanted to please others and wanted to do right by others and therefore themselves. It seems this is no longer the case!
amyjodeb said this on March 30, 2010 9:07 pm
Solid article. We all to often forget what can be seen online is there forever.
Great points.
Girlfriend said this on July 31, 2010 12:25 pm
I m brijesh from gkp
brijesh said this on August 6, 2010 1:54 pm
Brillient point to disscus it is so encourage for other
brijesh said this on August 6, 2010 1:56 pm
google
brijesh said this on August 6, 2010 1:57 pm
great article for you keep it up
sviit
brijesh said this on August 6, 2010 1:58 pm