Watching Your Digital Footprints.....

Originally posted dec 2008, but still very relavent and timely. Updated in 2013 for relevancy. 

This is a situation I seem to come back to again and again —- paying attention to what you put on-line for the internets to find.

Twentysomethings, and younger, high school age webbies are just starting to realize the long, so-very-long ramifications of throwing their whole life out there for the internet to see.  I am continuously baffled by folks who think it’s ok to publish drunken party pictures, or other juvenile hi-jinks.

There are so many apps that capture your personal life, you can't limit your exposure to just Facebook any longer. Your Tumblr, your Instagram, your Tweets and your Pinterest are all fodder for the masses.

Um, hello? When I am part of an interview panel, the first thing I do is google people.  I check to find them on facebook and I shake my head at the *limo booze cruize photos* they’ve posted. Every friend is a possible job opportunity.

You want to get into grad school? Know that someone is going to check into your internet life first.  Same wth a job interview, same with even getting a first date.

Yes - be on the internet.

Yes - have a digital personality.

Make it be a positive reflection, though.  No one needs to lose opportunities because of something ridiculous they posted to Facebook.

:-(  Sigh.

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I suck at Google+

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It's sad to admit, but true. I was asked for my Google+ profile URL, and I had to google what it was and how to find it. Let me tell you, it's a damn ugly string of shite.

And then I started looking through all the updates in my Google + profile. Huh, seems like almost all my friends tend to suck at it as well. Most of the updates are cross posts from Facebook. I guess that's a good sign, I'm in good suckiness company. In a quick scroll through, I've only got 5 friends who are posting anything, and three of them are cross posting.

I used to LOVE Picasa Web Albums, but when they integrated with Google+, I gravitated towards just putting pictures into FB. Now I see that there are all my old Picasa Web Albums in Google+. I've got to think about that more - sigh. I've got digital dandruff all over the place, but that's another blog article entirely.

Is Google+ ever going to take off? It's unlikely. I use Google for virtually everything:

• tracking stock
• search
• math
• mail
• Google Drive

But I don't use it for social media. I even use LinkedIn more than Google+.

Am I lame? (don't answer that)

I just don't have a compelling reason to use it. If you're a Google+ user, what's *your* compelling reason?

Path --> The Way Facebook Should Have Been

My heart soared today.

I stumbled across Path. Some have touted it as the anti-social network, and I can tend to agree. 150 friend limit makes sure you choose your friends wisely. It’s been described as an intimate bbq with your closest buddies… and indeed, that’s exactly what it is.

You won’t find arduous privacy settings, games or advertising. It’s not a web app, it’s a mobile app only —- iOS and Android. Pundits are loving it. Amber MacArthur likes it. Gizmodo has a wickedly delightful review, and that’s what tweaked my interest.

I’m the sort of person who has a dozen different friend lists on Facebook. On Path —- that’s irrelevant. It’s just your friends. Your *close* friends. Not the obscure people you haven’t seen in 20 years but thought it would be a kick to add them to your Facebook. Real friends… full stop.

The biggest question will be whether or not the people I actually like keeping in contract with regularly have room for another app in their social world.

I hope so.