This morning in the Chicago Red Eye, I read a very brief segment about Unvarnished, the new social website which allows users to rate their coworkers, bosses, business partners, and more. Certainly this raises a lot of questions about what is going to happen with social media. What if you have a coworker who constantly shows up drunk? What if your boss monitors a site like this? Could your reviews of your peers act as the new Big Brother? What will be the impact on your future career?
Those of us that are in ‘the know’ or have figured out that your privacy is no longer really yours…know that what you put online can come back to haunt you. Last night on Fox News Chicago, they ran a spot about a young teenage girl who was coaxed by her then boyfriend to create a video starring her in flagrante delicto. The resulting video was sent around the world and is illegal to own and publish in most countries because it is child pornography. The problem is this video has traveled the world and the poor child’s life is in tatters because of the viral nature of the Internet [of which is, in part, propelled by social media].
Consider this your fair warning. Post [online] only what you would share with your future boss or grandmother. All else is fair game and will be used against you in the public court of opinion. I guarantee you, for those who choose to ignore the power of billions online…you will surly parish from the masses willing to hunt down the scandals and trash we post about ourselves.
Tear down your beer photos and college pics…and any comment [left, right, or middle] which may offend the your neighbor. Rest assured our future online holds more transparency than we really want to share. It is the nature of social media to share, rate, discuss, and socialize. Think back to your high school days or college days which for many of us was prior to the social media explosion.
Some rumors and unscrupulous events could be hidden or waved away. Now, once it’s online it may take the end of humanity before it comes off billions of prying eyes. The good news, and there is good news, some of us really don’t care about our privacy and what we post online. If you don’t mind airing your dirty laundry, emotions, drunk photos, and still believe in freedom of expression…I say let it rip and roll.
