February 2007
Monthly Archive
February 13, 2007
February 9, 2007
I read this today, and I thought about yesterday at work, when someone almost didn’t get called in for an interview, despite his/her’s qualifications. This decision was solely based on the contents of this person’s myspace page.
I’m no great defender of myspace, believe me. I find it to be generally annoying and sometimes I can actually feel brain cells dying when I read some of the profiles. But, should someone’s blog or myspace page be the sole determinate of professional worth? How do we delineate private space from public space when technology is rapidly erasing those lines?
I have this tiny corner of the internet, and although it doesn’t fit into the traditional definition of private, I consider it to be. I blog semi-anonymously. Which means I don’t use my real name, but post pictures of myself, and don’t exactly keep it a secret that I have a blog. But there’s a reason I don’t use my real name; the internet is forever, and I don’t want to be judged by something I consider a fun project because someone googled me and was completely taken aback by my excessive wine drinking.
I suspect that my potential employers don’t really care about how much I hated Atlantic City, or how much I paid for a Blondie album. Those are things that don’t have much weight, in professional or private sectors. But the mere fact that I as a private citizen, am not entitled to a private life or opinions that have nothing to do with job performance is, to put it into scientific terms, god-damned creepy. If I allow myself to be censored based on what others think carry weight, well then, I have effectively lost my voice, and my power. Of all the things I have in this world, the one thing I value most is my voice. It’s my vote, my protest participation, my community involvement, my opinions, my art, and yeah, sometimes, it’s my blog.
I should have as much freedom to criticize the Trumpification of New Jersey as I do the current administration. My opinions are not the property of my employer.
February 7, 2007
My first gray hair.
Discuss.
