Hello fellow bloggers! We are all enthusiastically writing posts for this very interesting blog. Besides the fact that it is fun, we actually get rewarded for it with a pass or a fail. However, not everyone is as lucky as we are…
What some of us do not realize is that what we post on the Internet, whether it is a blog, Facebook post, Twitter update, or LinkedIn status-change, not only gets read by our friends and family but also by your future employers. You can save yourself the following embarrassment by taking into account this realization every time before you post something.
(Lifehacker)
However, you should not forget about your colleagues and bosses! They might also check your Facebook or blog and might not be too happy with what you are posting there. Flight attendant Ellen Simonetti and Google employee Mark Jen know this from experience. Simonetti had posted some pictures of herself in uniform on her blog while Jen speculated about Google’s finances. Neither of their bosses were happy with their employees’ love for blogging and both of them got fired.
(Luckyaviation)
Now you might think the following: “I am way too smart to do such things! I know what I can and cannot do.” However, can you actually know what you can or cannot do? The fact is that many companies have guidelines that prohibit visiting porn sites (really?) or posting racist comments (duh!), there are not many companies that explicitly state their policies regarding social media use.
Thus, can you actually fire employees for their social media use?
In my opinion, companies should first make sure to have a social media policy and spread this policy amongst their employees. Companies can only fire people for breaking rules that 1) exist and 2) widely known. Second, there should be a widespread realization amongst students and employees that whatever they post will be available for everyone forever! Universities, parents, and employers are just a few of the many institutions that can help in establishing this realization.
My tip for you: Make sure you get this realization before it is too late.
Sadly, this realization came too late for Lindsay…
(Lifehacker)
