On Digital Dirt
The revealing of digital dirt may scare many bloggers and activists, but it should not. What is worse than losing a job or lead over political discrimination is being hired by an asshole which uses social networking websites to stalk your activities off of the job. Any potential boss who cares about your blogging is an employer you do not want to work for. Any employer who views your content and eliminates himself/herself as your potential boss should be applauded in a social Darwinist sense. By discriminating against you for your views and activism, the individual allows you to find a better “fit” instead of bringing you into the fold only to reveal a manipulative personality later. It is better to find the right employer from the beginning than to settle for the wrong one, and then learn that he/she is not a decent person. I happen to know someone who was fired for what was written on Linkedin. Less than two-three months later, the company is being sold to a bigger one. Obviously the social network stalking was indicative of mismanagement and employers who did not know how to run their own company. Only inferior companies run by circle jerk bosses stalk their employers. Good companies do not. Good employees do not talk about their employers in inappropriate places, but good employers know their boundaries too.
Do your research; the total amount of business per square mile in America is astounding, even inside the recession. The only reason that digital dirt is a threat is because of the recession and now employers are picky. In a good economy, for every employer who cares, there are ten decent employers who are not hypocrites. For every employer who “writes you off” due to your viewpoints, there is one that will favor you as an out-of-the-box thinker with creativity. This is particularly true if you prove that you have good tech skills. We really do have a conspiracy of elites and most people indeed are decent enough, afraid enough, indifferent enough or in agreement enough to not care. Simply put, most people do behave like backstabbing politicians and special interest lobbies do. Most people do not behave like internet cowards do either.
In the recession, indeed opportunities are limited and I can see why people would be stuck working for an asshole who stalks their social networking, and want to cover it up. I can see why the recession could turn employers into assholes and I can see why some people would want to work for an asshole just to make ends meet. Even though the recession complicates matters, if you really do your research, enough business still exists that you hopefully can find a good match with an employer. I feel empathy for those who are less lucky and end up either unemployed or the victims of stalking due to the convergence of the recession and what they have written online.
I used to fear the consequences of “being outed” but now I really do not care. The kind of guy who sits around looking for digital dirt and “punishes” people economically for it is exactly the kind of guy you want to avoid. If digital dirt weeds out the weak, then perhaps we should create more of it and care less what others think about it. If it wasn’t for the recession, I would openly declare that I completely do not care.