There is a lot of talk on the net about SEO (search engine optimization) especially for those hoping to profit by their writing and selling. When a webmaster uses keywords, even inadvertently, it assists the search engines to help others find your site, your posts in a thread and in comment sections.
What could become a problem is in many discussion groups, blogs and websites on the net where individuals discuss their intimate personal details that should stay personal, and those discussions become searchable under key words which can be brought up by request to various search engines. These eventually become cached on the web, so even if the poster succeeds in removing posts, they are still available for viewing.
While it might not be likely that those who have posted will be instantly recognized by someone searching on the internet, TMI (too much information), especially of the personal kind, can end up searchable or cached on the net with the right combination of search words.
This is particularly true if you belong to a site that permits links, or does not have a way to block links, that people are posting along with their discussions or comments. Those utilizing a search engine can sometimes bring up much more than anticipated.
If you are recognizable on the net and applying for a job, remember that current trends are not only to pull your credit report, but also pull a background check that very often includes doing a search on the internet. TMI can kill your chances for employment even though your skills might be impeccable.
If you want to be comfortable on the net, discretion in what you post anywhere is something to keep in mind.
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2 comments:
Excellent advice! People should pay attention to this!
Lemme' talk on this from another perspective. I run 4 sites and recently went to one of the big writers' forums looking for some part-time help.
I ended up not even offering the position because of the feeling I got from the group. I get that people need a place to vent every now and then but it's hard to see someone as a professional when they're calling out old employers publicly and posting stuff like "the power of making friends". (Sorry. I've probably offended half your readers.)
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