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Good article from Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports.

Facebook was big when I was in school, but no where near the popularity of what it is now. A year ago I spent a couple months in Mankato with my brother, and it was like all anyone did. Get wasted on shots and beer bongs? Put photos of it on FB. Dress as a slutty nurse for Halloween? It's on FB November 1st. I don't think these kids realize that recruiters and HR professionals look into these things when they interview candidates. They think that because their profile is set to private that the photos might as well be locked in a top secret vault. My old man is a Superintendent and he laughs when I've asked him if potential teachers are crossed off the list because of compromising FB profiles. "All the time" he says.

These are guys that are auditioning for jobs worth millions and they're running the risk of being taken off a draft board.

Rick Speilman wrote:Rick Spielman remembers one Myspace page, the kind that makes a personnel man sit up in his seat, reach for a pencil, and push a particular question to the top of his list. He refuses to divulge the name of the player involved, but concedes that the Minnesota Vikings ran into the profile “a year or two ago.” One that the Vikings looked at very closely at the league’s annual scouting combine in Indianapolis, then grilled privately over some of the things he had posted on his networking profile.

“He had a big picture of a bunch of drug money and drugs on a carpet,” the Vikings’ vice president of player personnel said, shaking his head. “It was the kind of thing that, you know, it was under his name. So when we had some time with him, of course we were like ‘What is this all about?’ … It was an interesting conversation. He had a legitimate explanation for what happened and we followed up on it and we believe it was what he said it was. But that’s one of the things that happens [with networking profiles].”

I remember that. It was Brandon Flowers.

What's funny is that, before you said it was Brandon Flowers, I had three or four other pictures I remember seeing (probably from last year alone) running through my head. Unfortunately, I can't remember whose profiles they belonged to.

Good read. I've deleted the vast majority of my incriminating FB photos. People just don't get it.

I don't think these kids realize that recruiters and HR professionals look into these things when they interview candidates.

Which is exactly why I've stayed far, far away from all of the social networking sites and continue to refuse invites to this day from friends and family members. Other than the fact that I think it's completely pointless, because of how popular it is now, it can get you into a lot of sticky situations both professional and personal—we're seeing all kinds of stories like that these days.

I prefer to keep my anonymity on the internet as much as possible thank you very much.

I don't see the problem with the social networking websites as long as you're not a complete idiot and post pictures like Flowers did. Or if you do post them, delete them before you are trying to get a job. It's not that hard.

Not into it at all - but fyi -
NPR radio had story that those sites own or co-own all content posted by anyone and they keep mirror copies of stuff so they have archive even if you delete stuff. There was some user outrage when discovered but as far as i know the policy has not changed. They probably would never do anything with it.... but still... between corp. advertisers and hackers, once on the net - forever available.

eagle13 wrote:Not into it at all - but fyi -
NPR radio had story that those sites own or co-own all content posted by anyone and they keep mirror copies of stuff so they have archive even if you delete stuff. There was some user outrage when discovered but as far as i know the policy has not changed. They probably would never do anything with it.... but still... between corp. advertisers and hackers, once on the net - forever available.

Facebook has come out and stated that they don't own any of the content posted by their users, or claim rights to it. They say that there are mirrors of everything you post on there, but they don't claim any rights to it, and have since changed the wording of their user policy.

I'm on facebook. I use it regularly. But I block my profile from who I don't know, and I don't post anything on there that I'd later regret. It's pretty simple.