|
Quandaries and Conundrums - Not Quite Preferr |
| I'm having a the internet identity crisis.Those of you who know me, read my blogs and bulletins on a regualr basis, etc... well, you know I have a problem with people over the age of 18 who make their profiles private.?Given the fact that you have chosen to join a "social networking site" your profile should be viewable to whoever is curious, right??You are here because you want to connect with new people, re-connect with old friends and aquaintences, get yourself out there... be it your career choice, your artwork, your writing, your day to day life... much as I have done.I have had people tell me they have made their the internet profile private for various reasons, including "stalker issues" and for those I still advocate the use of that happy little button called "BLOCK USER".?I've learned to use it, and I use it quite well.However...There comes a point in time when even an adult the internet user has to "grow up" and take responsibility for who they represent themselves to be online.My time, apparently, is now.I've already taken the first steps...I've set up a preferred list for my blogs and will be using it in the near future... be warned if you haven't already requested access... the time is coming that I will post a blog that you won't be able to read.As of today I've also made changes to my profile... a full re-working of it is in the works, but for now, pictures are set to "Friends Only" and if you were aware of the fact that I used to jokingly represent my college major as "drinking", I have changed that as well.Why?I have never made an effort to hide who I am to anyone who was curious enough to come looking, but I find my role in my small community changing.?I have written two minor stories for the newspaper that I work for in the past several weeks, and as luck(?)has it, this week I got saddled with an assignment that is not exactly minor when it comes to the big picture.?For the past two nights I have attended meetings that have had me rubbing elbows with some very influential members of the community.?People who are involved with local government and beyond.?People who have clout in the professional world.?People who are learning my name and learning that I represent a local publication.?People who are intelligent enough to know what resources the internet has to offer and come looking.I mentioned in a previous blog that a friend of mine had joined the internet and subsequently deleted her profile because of her decision to start looking for a new job.?I know that having a the internet profile could put me at risk for a whole new world of scrutiny that I hadn't even considered up until I realized that I'm suddenly becoming a "professional".(Professional being a relative term here in BFE, and my referring to it as BFE could even cause an uproar in certain circles)My point, my friends, is this:At what point does my internet identity become a problem for who I am in reality?While there are many of you who would argue that there is a degree of seperation between our internet personas and who we are "In Real Life", myself included, I am also well aware of the fact that the internet profiles are no laughing matter when taken into consideration for things such as employment.Many a sad soul has lost their job or even the opportunity for gainful employment, simply because of what they choose to include in their the internet profile.?Up until recently, I didn't really care, didn't think that what my profile contains had any levity in the matter.Except... people in Delta County, better known to me as BFE Colorado... are showing up on the internet in numbers.?Random browsing of members within a 50 mile radius of the zip code 81416 proves my point.?Hell...I even stumbled across my ex-brother-in-lawish person earlier today just by plugging in his real name to the the internet search engine (his profile is private, by the way).When I first joined the internet, there were something in the range of 20-some-thousand users.?That was back in 2005, and my only intention then was making my writing accessible and reconnecting with people.?Today, however, the internet is becoming an entirely differently ball game.What would you do, in my shoes? |
|
Webhosting