I really dont get the facebook, linkedin, myspace thing. i dont have one, and never plan to i learned in consulting that every resume you give out gets devoured by the bottom feeders for every bit of usefull info, i wrote my resume as carefully as possible, and gave info out in layers, which still wasnt good enough - IT firm scum use every reference you give them for marketing, many jobs they post are fake H-1b cover in the first place. i absolutly HATE giving out any info i just cant imagine why anyone would ever give out the info they do. just about everything i've ever said on the internet has been under an alias, and for that matter, I've avoided even giving out details that could identify me the ability to give out far more personal info never changed the wisdom of doing so
Bingo!!! Money is the main reason why you would want your name out there. The first thing people do is google your name. If you have quality material under your name then +1. For example, a myspace profile that has quality pictures of you with family and friends. A linkedin profile with a completed work history of yourself. etc. You make yourself appear more legitimate and thus more trustable to those who have the money or position you want... If there is nothing about you, then where has this guy been? What has he done?
Again you don't have to to do that. Unless you are constantly looking for new career opportunities or are in a business where that could be useful and well regarded to be there. Another reason to do it is for pick up , tell chicks you are on sheepbook and have your profile full of cool pics of you and attractive female friends and you get points . But again, most people won't check sheep book if you don't tell them so it's optional . By refusing to get into this game , you also allow your kids not to have to play this silly game later in their life (what's their life gonna be if everybody HAS to be on the internet ?)and face the consequences when some ill intended people track them down.
anything you ever put up, can live out there forever, even if you take it back down right away. if it can be seen once, it can be saved forever
Um, Linkedin keeps my family from starving to death. It's how my dad finds consulting leads and how I find potential job leads in this sh!t hole of an economy.
I actually agree with the OP's intentions based on what I said earlier. Suppose some slimeball has the same name as you? Or suppose you *are* the slimeball but it's all in the past now? Suppose all this negative stuff with your name on it is in the first page of search results? You can't get rid of the undesirable search results from your name. But you can at least try to push it off the first couple of pages of results by creating a positive persona that's light on details but heavy on cudos and accolades. Call it "online persona engineering" LOL
Bingo! +1 What occupations can you feel safe in where you dont constantly network and look for new opportunities? Today, you need a network of steady contacts. Its the only way you can survive out there unless you want to fool yourself. Even traders...look at some of the best traders and wealthiest individuals who are broke. I saw this thing on CNBC this morning about players hocking their championship rings. My buddy at Morgan Stanley was saying that he had a skill where they could not replace him. Then they handed him his 60 day letter. As for the stuff being put out there for all to see, if you lie about the information your putting up then yeah it may just get held against you at some point. If your truthful, factual and classy its not going to get held against you. Photos of you at Christmas with your family is not going to get held against you. You graduating from Harvard Business School will not be held against you. You lieing about your attendance at Harvard and then posting up pictures of you smoking pot may just get held against you.
yes, i agree. raised serious capital and made great contacts from linked in. its a great service/site, unless you're a hermit like many here. surf
Lets say you have no intention on ever using it for business...what about friends and, if your single, women? Every woman who has ever gone out with me in the last few years has googled my name. When they google your name, you want them to find a myspace and friendster account with some good photos of yourself demonstrating a normal life....on a vacation, at work, Christmas with family, etc. You also want them to find some details about your work and just you. No details or negative details and what can they possibly conclude? Will the information stick around forever? Yes, but thats not a bad thing if the information you entered is good.