There is a flip side of the Age of Forced Transparency — The Age of Voluntary Transparency.
Specifically, I’m talking about the huge explosion of Social Media which encourages (some say compels) people to document their daily lives online which sometimes includes, let’s say euphemistically, compromising information and photos.
This includes a slew of political candidates who found themselves confronted with images of past escapades including simulating oral sex with a sex toy, dancing on a pool table in their underwear, and posing poolside with provocatively dressed women.
Even if you don’t want to run for Congress, Facebook can also be hazardous to your professional career. People have been fired for disagreeing with their bosses online and being caught posting online when they are supposedly unable to work on a computer at work for health reasons.
Legal suits have even brought up the prospect of having your Facebook page subpoenaed to prove – or disprove – your claims about the quality of life you are currently enjoying.
Care and foresight are necessary to manage your online reputation. That includes your personal reputation as well as your corporate reputation.
