9/21/2008

Your Written Words on the Internet...Think About What You Say

An article on www.earlytorise.com has again given me plenty to think about. You'll notice on the right hand side of the page about half way down I have a daily RSS feed for some of that day's articles.

Yesterday there was one that certainly made me think about what I write in my Blog, on Facebook, etc. Here's a snippet...and a link to the full article. If you post anywhere on the internet you'll want to read it and give some thought to it:

“Reputation is character minus what you’ve been caught doing.”

Michael Iapoce

What Happens Online Stays Online

By Suzanne Richardson

You finish a fantastic book, and post a review of it on Amazon…

Your favorite blogger posts a blog entry that you disagree with, so you write a rebuttal in the comments section…

You send in a glowing note of thanks for a product you bought, and the company (with your permission) publishes it in their online newsletter…

You get terrible service at a new restaurant downtown, so you add a scathing description of the snooty waiters and bland food to CitySearch…

Your old college roommate hosts a huge birthday bash, and you rave about how drunk you got on your MySpace page…

There’s practically no end to the ways you can publish your opinions online.

And that’s great. It means that you can start a blog or an e-newsletter, and quickly position yourself as an expert in anything… from marketing to tropical fish to grammar and more.

But before you fire up the Internet and start posting away… take a second to reconsider.

The thing you have to remember is this: The Internet may be a palimpsest of conversation, information, advice, and junk. It may be protean and malleable. But it is also pretty permanent.

When you put things on the Internet, they’re there for good. And if you don’t think through what you’re posting, it might turn up years - even decades - later to haunt you....

Read the full article here: http://www.earlytorise.com/2008/09/20/what-happens-online-stays-online-2.html

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