Social Media Police Have Come for your Uncool Niece!

I really found this blog disturbing and particularly was amused by some of the ridiculous comments made by brokers quoted in it. The idea that a coop board would Google the names of an applicants children, then turn down the applicant because of something they dug up on FaceBook or MySpace? Since boards are supposed to respect the privacy of it's applicants perhaps this story is just so much fluff, though I doubt it. But it does say something about some of the characters sitting on boards, that they would leak out this type of information.

First I just find it creepy that someone would be trolling through my friends list to see if I was associating with unsavory types. I understand the need to screen for credit history as well as complete criminal background checks, but I draw the line at digging into lifestyle choices or other personal information and then used to decide if I'm a worthy neighbor,job applicant or loan applicant. Whether someone is a dominatrix, drag queen, republican,vegetarian,Hare Krsna,rides a Harley or card carrying member of the communist party should not play a role in where you are allowed to live. Even a vegetarian, drag queen Hare Krsna can make a good neighbor!

The problem is if you post your personal secrets on a social media network or forum there is a good chance you could someday be judged by the content of it. Now some might say it's the public domain so writer beware! But I still just think it's creepy that people are snooping and making judgments based on musings, that in many cases are simply whimsical writings that were meant for a select group of people to see. Make sure you protect yourself by setting privacy controls to keep your personal information out of the hands snoopers! You don't want some silly pictures you posted or something you wrote in jest to be taken out of context and used against you when applying for a job or housing. To me this is the biggest problem and a reason to protect yourself, as many things can be taken out of context and used to hurt or embarrass you. It's a shame we have to be fearful of what we write or what our friends or children write, knowing that it could be used against us. Very Orwellian indeed. "Beware the savage jaw...of 1984 2010!"