Wired Magazine is one of the three magazines I like enough to subscribe to.
I don’t subscribe because I’m some techie, actually I wish I knew more about technology, but Wired does an amazing job of weaving technology with related stories on entertainment, athletics, the environment, travel and more. And in one of their sections they have a write in Q and A of sorts, where people ask questions and someone from the magazine responds.
I found this month’s section interesting as it is related to Facebook and the content on our profiles and how that may affect future employment. Because I spent a fair amount of time this weekend at our ministry leadership team meeting talking with the leaders about the importance of what they put on their profiles, and how what they put on their profiles not only affects their leadership and how other’s perceive them, but how they profiles may jeopardize future careers, etc. There is more I could say on this as this is an important topic to me right now as I prepare for the conference in November, but I will say more later.
In the October issue, in the START section, there is a “Mr. Know-It-All” column by Brendan I. Koerner, in which the question is posed:
Is it okay to fib a little on my social-network profile?
The response:
Facebook and MySpace pages certainly aren’t resumes, but these days plenty of companies comb social-networking sites when vetting potential employees. In one University of Dayton survey of employers, 40 percent of respondents said they’d consider Facebook data when making hiring decisions. So while social-network lies might not immediately cost you a job, they could come back to haunt you. “We don’t know how long information you post today will remain on the Web,” says Susan Barnes, associate director of the Lab for Social Computing at the Rochester Institute of Technology. “Once information is out there, it’s really difficult to erase.” Imagine how bummed you’ll be if, 15 years hence, you get passed over for a job because someone unearths a fudged profile from 2007 (linked to those pictures from Mardi Gras where you’re, let’s say, underdressed).
Not every fib is equally perilous. It’s one thing to say your favorite movie is The 400 Blows when it’s really Meatballs Part II., and quite another to lie about your education or job history. Lying about your tastes may not be ethical, but it’s also less likely to cause you future agony–unless you start dating a Truffaut aficionado you met through Facebook. Although we don’t recommend that in any case.”
