So, I’ve become COMPLETELY convinced that most of you think what you do online is private. Before you dig a deeper grave, I’m here to tell you… that is NOT the case. There is nothing private about your online presence. Whether you like it or not, you are transparent. And, I’m not even talking about translucent transparency (you know, where the corners are blurred).
At this point, you have two options:: 
- Get OFF-Line!!! Throw your computer away and find an old Motorola
- Listen To Me!!!!! I am about to tell you something very important
Today, I’m going to tell you a little story about a woman I know. She came to me seeking employment. We combed through her resume and LinkedIn profile, sprucing them up. Next, we went through her online image and gave it a complete overhaul. We removed photos from Facebook, cleaned up her Twitter, scanned her presence on other social media sites, etc.
Finally, she was all polished up like a new penny… ready to go. She started submitting her resume around, applying for an Executive Administrator role. She was thrilled when she started receiving phone calls. Within 5 weeks, she had 4 interviews and a fantastic job opportunity knocking at her door. SUCCESS!!
She accepted the position after a bit of compensation negotiating. During her background, they advised her that she would have to go through a social media background review. She was told that this review would be superficial and it would only scan through any public profiles she had online. She felt confident with her presence and signed the disclosure statement.
Three days later, she called me crying. The company retracted their job offer. She explained that they had found something on YELP.com that reflected an image the company did not feel ran parallel with their own image. After she and I had combed through everything, she had written a couple of harsh and accusation filled reviews; never thinking they would actually be tracked back to her.
This is absurd. EVERYTHING YOU DO ONLINE IS TRACKED!!! Her written reviews on Yelp were found by searching with her email.
A G A I N…
EVERYTHING YOU DO ONLINE IS TRACKED!!
Before you decide to let someone have it online, I want you to understand, even though you are using a Profile Nickname to authenticate your presence, you are still potentially searchable. If you REALLY need to say something vulgar, I recommend you establish a separate email address. My advice, however, praise those that deserve it and hold your tongue on everything else. Isn’t it bad enough that the company you find terrible lost your business? If you must share your opinion, SAY it… don’t TYPE it.