Couldn't Be More True

Well, the first time I tried to post this I managed to only post the blog title. Anyway, technological mishaps aside...

I read a little bit about your "web footprints" today. This article had some good points that nothing ever really "goes away" on the web. Between Google and Twitter and the dozens and dozens of sites that have a cache of everything that has ever been posted on them you've got to be cautious about what you post about yourself.

This is especially true of high school/college students with college admissions folk, RA's and employers becoming more web savvy. Someone left the comment on the article that "You shouldn't put anything on a social networking site that you wouldn't want on the front page of the paper, because you never know when it will end up there". There was also a little blurb about an executive who was travelling to meet a client and posted a derogatory comment about the city the client lived in on Twitter. the client saw it, didn't find it funny at all and promptly discontinued the business relationship.

Yikes.

The most appealing part of the whole article, though was this simple statement at the end: "Whether you believe in monitoring yourself online or not, don't forget the point of the social Web: to get to know other like minded people, share resources, have fun, and leave the place a little nicer than you found it." Gee, is that so hard to do?

Even online, we can leave the world a little bit better than we found it. Give it a shot! Hold back that nasty remark on your "status update" and put something fun or funny on it. Make someones day. Find a constructive way to leave a comment on a blog rather than saying something nasty that eventually someone will read and think "what a jerk" about. Sure it takes a little effort, but just like picking up litter on the street we can prevent some "litter" on the web.

Plus when you look back at your web footprints there is nothing to be ashamed of!