It is interesting to think about the new “permanent record” that exists as a result of technological expansion. It is impossible to imagine our lives without it, and yet there is an Orwellian darkside that comes with its conveniences. Personally, I choose to make use of social-networking sites, as I was part of their target audience in my undergraduate years. Although I have a Myspace account, it is purely to direct people to find me on Facebook. Myspace is too “open” and cluttered for me, and I find Facebook more elegant. I also like the privacy settings on Facebook, and have set up my page so that only accepted friend can see my information. I use it primarily to keep friends and family (who are spread throughout countries) updated on the events in my life, and vice versa. I also upload pictures to my account and share them with loved ones. I like that Facebook allows me to send specific photo albums to non-Facebook users if I choose, and prevents them from accessing any other information. I have also used Facebook to organize informal events. By posting an event and adding friends, I can easily contact a wide array of people and let them know of an upcoming party, school meeting, or travel plan through their area of the world. I also use Facebook to contact classmates and ask questions and organize meetings.

I have searched for my friends and relatives social networking pages. Sometimes, it’s exciting to reconnect with a lost companion. Others, its sad to see that your interests may not be as compatible as initially thought. I am surprised by some of the things people have posted to relatively open pages. It is especially insightful at my place of employment where such searches are common as a way to weed through stacks of applicants and potential employees. I have seen more than a few resumes discarded as a result of such searches. However, I have also seen some reconsidered because of this, so it does seem to go both ways.

When I Googled myself, I only saw one piece of information that I considered worrisome, and I quickly remedied this. I had posted my Resume onto my afs space as part of a class project. This was all well and good, except for my address glaring from the top of the page. Two clicks and my resume was removed, but it was a little worrisome. I think I will remove private information and repost my resume, as I don’t mind this being readily available. The only other information was an Alumni listing from my University and a blog mention (a wedding present thank you).

I don’t think that a future employer would be all that impressed, as there isn’t that much information there, but I don’t think there’s anything detrimental online either. My resume may be impressive (or maybe not), but they would already be in possession of that information if they were Googling me in the first place.