I just had one of those moments (it seemed to last forever) as I used a feed reader to link my blog to my social media accounts. It's been linked to Facebook for a while, I can take comfort from that though because only my close friends and family members are linked to that account.
When it's linked to your professional account on Linkedin, it gets a little bit scarier.
The thing is, in this day and age it doesn't matter where you are online be it Google+, Twitter, You Tube, Facebook etc etc (because I'm not going to list the thousand others). If you've commented, posted or uploaded content then you exist in the cyberworld somewhere, somehow and a relatively simple Google search will track you down.
My children don't understand this concept, heck I don't understand how far reaching it is sometimes. They don't know how careful they need to be when they put it out there for everyone to see. It's a pretty safe bet though that in this day and age that if you're applying for a job then many recruiters will do an online search to check you out.
So the hilarious photos of you skinny dipping as a youngster, or the online argument with a family member, or worse still the online bagging of a boss or workplace are there for everyone to see.
I'll resist the urge to revoke my blog posts for now. After all, it's all about stepping outside of my comfort zone, putting my words out there to be judged. That's what a writer does. Fortunately, there's no naked pictures in this post, no harsh words towards a family member or bagging of a workplace or employer - it's a harmless post after all. But...it's out there.
So how many of you have had second thoughts about something you've put up for the world to see, be it photos or words. Have you taken it down or left it there?
Cheers, Fi
I just had this conversation with someone yesterday
ReplyDeleteThanks. Great reminder. And that is where the magic happens!
Louise - I'm very partial to magic myself :-)
DeleteThis is a huge issue for me. I don't use social media at all outside of my blog. I joined Google+ but have never used it. Though everything is registered in my real name, I looked into it very carefully before I began to make sure I could keep it anonymous and still prove ownership if necessary. Sometimes it stinks because I would love to add stories about my work and I really wish I could be openly 'me'. But the fact is that I own a company and my name is on it and my blog is very personal. I have a responsibility both to my family and the business, so at least for now, I'm incognito. (Sometimes i take things down just because I decide they're stupid ; )
ReplyDeleteI have a number of drafts which never see the light of day for the same reason. I'm finding the morning pages of free writing that I'm doing is fantastic for getting those words out without putting them out live for others to see.
DeleteThis is so true for life in general especially with words. Words can not be taken back and can sting for a long time. I do link to FB, pinterest, Google + (althoug do not like that all that much), twitter, etc and there have been a few posts on my blog over the course of the last couple years that I have thought about removing or editing, etc HOWEVER my keeping it real attitude didn't allow me to do so. Don't get me wrong I do not share every.single.thing about my or my families life, sometimes I start a post that is really deep, dark, etc but then choose not to post because it is just not a place that I want to go on my blog although at times when I have been more raw than usual I find that people relate to me on a different level, so it is a struggle. I have actually been thinkin lately about revamping my blog a little bit because of that...
ReplyDelete