Those of us from the generations that came after the formation and widely accepted use of the Internet and, perhaps even more importantly, the ubiquitous nature of cell phone camera, are often relieved by the fact that our past remains largely just that - our past. We can happily recreate (or create, if necessary) a view of the past that is of our own intention. Junior asks what the college years presented and Mom omits recanting the story of the lost weekend on sorority walkout to the University of Florida - before she met Dad. Today's kids are not going to have that luxury.
With seemingly every detail of one's credit, personal status and recent history already online, they will grow into adulthood with much of their lives somewhere recorded and ready for display just a click away. Privacy experts are already warning college-aged folks to resist the temptation to post even the most seemingly innocuous personal information on their MySpace page - or better yet avoid having such a thing at all. But, like most new-fangled inventions that we older generations attempt to keep the kiddies from sampling, social networking sites are among the fastest growing anywhere on the Web. So what does all of this data mean to the next generation?
When reviewing a potential investment in addition to checking references and talking to management, I scan the search engine sites to see what comes up. Has this exploration ever led to a refusal to partner? No. But occasionally odd (read embarrassing) information appears during a review that leads to additional questioning of the idea or those behind it. While there may be no reason not to participate in one political group or another... and there may be no reason not to experiment with whatever it is that one might deem experimental... it is likely that most would agree that those proclivities and experimentations are best not made a part of the early evaluative process in forming new relationships. In searching under my own name, I found some things that I didn't know where on the web about me - some were absolutely true and some were absolutely false. For example, an aggregator of trade information identified me as the owner of a business on the east coast, while the fact is that I am a part owner jin a similarly-named business in the Midwest. While I don't like being misrepresented, there isn't much I can do to fix it. If that business is sued or otherwise faces challenge, I could find myself spending my own hard-earned cash to get out of a lawsuit to which I never should have been a party?
But is this brave new world all bad? I certainly hope not. In fact, this new level of transparency ultimately could make our world a little better and each of us a little more honest? The video of Mom at sorority walk-out might be an opportunity to talk to Junior about the risks of teen-age drinking. Or, it could become a scapegoat for Junior to justify his own irresponsible behavior. The landscape of the Web and new technology is not something bad or good. It is simply a new variable of modern life that must be considered and exploited where necessary; but it is not something to be feared or even worse ignored.
Each of us is leaving a footprint on the Web. Each of us is being recorded. It occurs to me that the lesson is not to fear the technology, but instead to recall that humanity is the sum of our legacy - and the Web is taking it all down
With seemingly every detail of one's credit, personal status and recent history already online, they will grow into adulthood with much of their lives somewhere recorded and ready for display just a click away. Privacy experts are already warning college-aged folks to resist the temptation to post even the most seemingly innocuous personal information on their MySpace page - or better yet avoid having such a thing at all. But, like most new-fangled inventions that we older generations attempt to keep the kiddies from sampling, social networking sites are among the fastest growing anywhere on the Web. So what does all of this data mean to the next generation?
When reviewing a potential investment in addition to checking references and talking to management, I scan the search engine sites to see what comes up. Has this exploration ever led to a refusal to partner? No. But occasionally odd (read embarrassing) information appears during a review that leads to additional questioning of the idea or those behind it. While there may be no reason not to participate in one political group or another... and there may be no reason not to experiment with whatever it is that one might deem experimental... it is likely that most would agree that those proclivities and experimentations are best not made a part of the early evaluative process in forming new relationships. In searching under my own name, I found some things that I didn't know where on the web about me - some were absolutely true and some were absolutely false. For example, an aggregator of trade information identified me as the owner of a business on the east coast, while the fact is that I am a part owner jin a similarly-named business in the Midwest. While I don't like being misrepresented, there isn't much I can do to fix it. If that business is sued or otherwise faces challenge, I could find myself spending my own hard-earned cash to get out of a lawsuit to which I never should have been a party?
But is this brave new world all bad? I certainly hope not. In fact, this new level of transparency ultimately could make our world a little better and each of us a little more honest? The video of Mom at sorority walk-out might be an opportunity to talk to Junior about the risks of teen-age drinking. Or, it could become a scapegoat for Junior to justify his own irresponsible behavior. The landscape of the Web and new technology is not something bad or good. It is simply a new variable of modern life that must be considered and exploited where necessary; but it is not something to be feared or even worse ignored.
Each of us is leaving a footprint on the Web. Each of us is being recorded. It occurs to me that the lesson is not to fear the technology, but instead to recall that humanity is the sum of our legacy - and the Web is taking it all down
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