Web Secret #119: Secrets for Gen Y

I almost called this post "Steve, Don't Eat It".

(Steve writes some of the funniest posts in the blogosphere, many involve his adventures with the "Good Lord, NOOOO!" aisle of the supermarket".)

Less obliquely, what I am trying to say to Gen Y is, when it comes to social media, DON'T:

Tag yourself in photos that show you wearing skimpy garb holding a brewski.
Discuss your sexual fetishes and proclivities.
Broadcast how much you hated your old boss/company/colleagues.

Today, more than ever DON'T.

Why?

• 75% of U.S. recruiters are required by their companies to do online research of candidates
  
• 70% of U.S. recruiters report they have rejected candidates because of information found online
  

Match that with:

• The 1st Amendment (Free Speech) does not cover photos
  
• The Internet records everything and forgets nothing
  
• Every online photo, status update, Twitter post and blog entry can be stored forever
  
• The Library of Congress will be acquiring and permanently storing the entire archive of public Twitter posts since 2006
  

Figure that the worst thing you have done is the first thing people will know about you.

Sooooo...

• Be careful.
  
• Do not post anything on any site that you would not want a potential employer to see.
  
• Be discreet.
  
• Set your profile to private and block inappropriate comments that others may make on your profile.
  
• Be prepared.
  
• Regularly check your online persona using reputation manager programs like StepRep. Make sure you are ready to explain or counter any “digital dirt” employers may see.
  

When all else fails, consider becoming Web Dead.