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Digital footprint and self-censure
12 April 2011
By Blanka Sengerová
Recently, I came across an interesting article on the Naturejobs site, which discussed the pros and cons of having a blog and other forms of online presence. Here it is:
http://www.nature.com/naturejobs/2011/110331/full/nj7340-667a.html
It made me think of all the steps of 'self-censure' that I take when posting stuff on the internet (including this forum). I would say that my advice about posting things would include:
1) Read everything before you press the 'send' or 'post' button. You will go down in people's estimation if you post a message including typos, letters in the wrong place, lack of capitals, etc. If you do post something including a mistake, delete the message and repost it in corrected format.
2) Don't post messages when you're angry, this is likely to result in an ill-thought out response, and more likely than not, you will regret the message having appeared. For the same reason, I would recommend that you stay away from the computer when drunk (though I have never experienced this myself, so I am speaking from the memory of seeing other people's incoherent postings).
3) Respond to people if at all possible, but know when to stop if you feel the debate is just disintegrating into a tit-for-tat word fight.
4) Finally, my thought is always, "would I be happy with this being read by a potential interviewer in five, ten, fifteen years' time?". If the answer is no, then modify what you're saying or consider not posting at all.
Now I'd like to open up discussion - would you guys like to add points that you always consider when adding to your digital footprint?
John Igoe12 April 2011 at 11:02 PM
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Think there is a lot to be said about this. If you look at a PhD:
1. Stress & other emotions
2. Volume of information your handling
3. Other social factors
A lot of the things above could seem quite difficult to achieve at times. Completely agree - quality of content, withhold emotions and think intellectually, engage people in your research and think long term!
Andy Humphrey14 April 2011 at 10:19 AM
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I'd add "be especially careful with photographs". There are many apocryphal tales of teachers posting up Facebook photos of inappropriate drunk behaviour, only to regret it when their pupils start circulating the pictures. An online presence needs to be a PROFESSIONAL presence - too many people forget that potentially what appears on the internet can be seen by the world.
Closed groups, chat rooms, BBSes etc. are more secure than the internet generally (and Facebook in particular) but I think it's good to bear these rules in mind, even when communicating on a closed internet group.
Blanka Sengerová14 April 2011 at 10:32 AM
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Good point about the photographs, Andy, I totally agree with you.
I guess the added problem is that this point is particularly difficult to control yourself completely, because photographs can be posted by others and 'tagged' to be associated with you without you even knowing those photos exist...
Andy Humphrey17 April 2011 at 10:19 AM
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As an aside to this discussion: I've just found myself in the position where I typed a reply to another post on this blog, but then decided I couldn't actually post it because of the way in which it was critical of the Higher Education establishment in the UK. The thought struck me, halfway through typing, that what I post on this blog needs to show me as a dedicated professional person, regardless of what my opinions are. Anything which may make a potential employer think less of me ought not to be posted.
My next thought was: do other contributors find themselves self-censoring when they post on this blog? And if so, does it restrict the level of discussion we can have, perhaps by ensuring we can't be 100% honest about those who have control over our careers?
Blanka Sengerová17 April 2011 at 03:42 PM
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>>The thought struck me, [...] Anything which may make a potential employer think less of me ought not to be posted.
Which, in my view, shows you as a sensible and self-controlled person, which is a very positive thing.
>>My next thought was: do other contributors find themselves self-censoring when they post on this blog?
Yes, I think they do (there are certainly some topics that I wouldn't post about - as I said, if I am not happy with something being read by a potential interviewer or by my current employer, then I wouldn't post it on a public forum). But I don't think it's any different to being restrained in what you discuss with your work colleagues - often, the things you would talk about (in relation to work) to your non-work friends and family will be much more open than what you would discuss with your work colleagues.
When I was introducing the blog at the research staff conference in November, I had a couple of people come and talk to me and say that having to post under their real name prevents them from posting due to the fears of repercussions. I still think the openness and honesty of posting under the real name rather than a pseudonym outweighs the downside of having to be slightly restrained. After the RS conference, I offered to post things on other people's behalf but haven't been taken up on the offer, so I guess it does not seem to be an issue for most people.
Hannah Dee18 April 2011 at 09:45 AM
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There are two other strategies that you can use for posting stuff on the internet...
1. Use a false name (my facebook isn't in my name)
2. Throw up so much digital chaff that anyone searching gets bored really easily
And there's a problem with online presence that any interviewer will (hopefully) know about - the problem of the nominative doppelganger. There are at least two other "Hannah Dee"s on the internet - one of whom is an actress, and the other is a political activist who does a lot of work with the socialist workers' party. So if you google me, it's mostly me (and all my digital chaff:-) but some of the hits are actually my doppelgangers. Which rather amusingly led to the police visiting me at work a few months back, but that's another story...
Hannah Dee18 April 2011 at 09:47 AM
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As for posting borderline stuff on this blog, maybe we should have an account for that? "Dr W. Blower", perhaps? :-)
Andy Humphrey26 April 2011 at 11:56 AM
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Hannah: that story isn't one you'd be comfortable sharing on a public forum, is it? I'm intrigued! :)