I am writing to you in reference to JonA’s blog post on friends only blogs. I’d like to welcome you to read my blog, all of it, including the bits I’m embarrassed of and wrong about, because I’d like you to employ me for who I actually am, not what lies I tell you on my CV. (Not that I lie on my CV, but others do, and thus I am making a humourous point). I, too, cannot comprehend people wanting to hide what they have written from the world, and as a firm believer in free speech I am not going to censor my own writings.
I expect any employer to google my name, visit my website, read my blog and follow links therefrom, and use any means available to them to find out as much as they can about me. This makes it easier for employers and employees who are suited to one another, to find each other. To help you in your tedious task of data mining I have made no effort to hide any of my past from you, instead leaving it openly online for you to browse at your leisure.
Thank you for reading, I hope I will be an asset to your team.
Yours faithfully,
Claire Melton
Jon | 08-Mar-06 at 4:03 pm | Permalink
That’s everything I wanted to say, but you’re more blunt than I am. Esk++
–Jon
Anonymous | 08-Mar-06 at 4:27 pm | Permalink
I am not trying to censor or hide what I write from the world. But I am well aware that much of my journal is silly and childish, and is not going to do me any favours. This is not my reason, really, I doubt a prospective employer would bother. But having people I vaguely know know more about me than I know about them upsets the power balance which is important in professional relationships.
Most importantly, my dad found it via google, and I hate the fact that he reads it. I hardly know the guy, yet he knows all this stuff about me.
Scatmania » Blog Archive » Claire, “Friends Only” Weblogs, And Employment | 08-Mar-06 at 4:54 pm | Permalink
[…] As Jon said, people like Alec and Suz have made their weblogs friends-only for the purpose of attempting to hide what goes in in their lives from employers, prospective employers, or the world in general. On the purpose of hiding such things from employers, I think that Claire’s most recent blog post (which talks about openness to employers) fully sums up exactly what I wanted to say. Well done, Claire. […]
Eskoala | 08-Mar-06 at 5:25 pm | Permalink
To Anonymous: The simple answer is, if you don’t want the world to know something about you, don’t put it online at all. To elaborate:
I don’t agree with these half measures. If you need your friends to know something about you, but you don’t want the world to know it too, tell them: to their face, on the phone, in a letter…
A page on the WORLD WIDE web is assumed to be for the world to read, in contrast to the other methods I have described. A blog is about giving people information about yourself freely, not about getting information about them in return. A blogger will probably never communicate 2-way with 90% of their readers. Why do they do it? They want to be heard, indiscriminately.
If you want to be heard by specific people, the web is probably not the place, and a blog certainly isn’t. If you want to be heard, but anonymously, simply set up an anonymous public blog and don’t put anything identifiable in it. Don’t set up a public onymous blog, say a load of incriminating stuff about yourself, then get scared and make it friends only. It’s too late.
Suz | 08-Mar-06 at 5:26 pm | Permalink
This is actually mainly a reply to Dan, but his blog doesn’t take comments so I’m posting it here. I am not trying to hide myself. But people are cruel, and I don’t want to give anyone anything to use against me. See my latest entry.
Don’t try to act like we’re being stupid, because I’m not. I don’t like some people reading it and there are good reasons for that.
Fine that you are all braver than me, that’s fine. But don’t try to make a point about it, all of you. If I want to make it friends only - not private, and I have at least 40 people on my friends list - why does it matter to you?
Suz | 08-Mar-06 at 5:28 pm | Permalink
And the above anonymous comment was me, I just forgot to fill in the bit with my name.
Eskoala | 08-Mar-06 at 5:39 pm | Permalink
“I don’t want to give anyone anything to use against me.” — What makes you think that those on the list are less likely to do so? Why put anything online that could be used against you at all, if you are that worried?
“Don’t try to make a point about it” — surely that’s the purpose of a blog, to make a point? And to allow discussion thereon?
“Don’t try to act like we’re being stupid” — But I believe you are being stupid, and it’s my right to say so.
“I don’t like some people reading it and there are good reasons for that.” — how about expressing some of those reasons so we can understand?
“40 people on my friends list” — I don’t see how this is relevant, and this sort of point always reminds me of “my dick’s bigger than yours” style arguments. Who cares how many are on the list, the point is that there is a list, i.e. you are choosing who can read it.
“Why does it matter to you?” — It doesn’t, really, but I like to discuss things on which I have opinions. Which, as it turns out, is almost everything. I made my point because JonA said something about it and I thought “Oh, I have an idea about that, I’ll say something too”. It was never directed at any individual.
I realise most of your comment was actually directed at Dan, but hey, I got here first.
Scatman Dan | 08-Mar-06 at 6:34 pm | Permalink
To Suz:
If people want to find something to use against you, they will.
I don’t think I’m trying to act like you’re being stupid for the reasons I think you think I am. The only thing “stupid” about such actions is the belief that it will protect you in some way when it won’t. Beyond that, read Esk’s comment.
On “Why does it matter to you?” - it matters because you’re my friend, and because I’d rather be honest than tactful with my friends. Plus, because I have opinions on the matters that I’d like to share. The bigger question is: why does it matter to you that it matters to me?
And, incedently: my blog does take comments, and always has (and, I hope, always will).
Suz | 08-Mar-06 at 7:18 pm | Permalink
Dan,
I realise that to you, it may seem like making it friends only is not going to solve anything, and you make a valid point. But it works for what I want it for: my dad and my friends from school won’t be able to read it, because they are not people I want to know everything about me. All the people on my friends list will (which was my original reason for pointing out that I had quite a few people on there, not bragging.) And none of those people are going to be able to hack into it, as I am the most internet competent of all of them.
It doesn’t bother me as you are entitled to your own opinion, but the way Claire worded her response made me feel like my reasons (which I think are perfectly valid) were not being listened to. And it really upset me.
And I’ve never been able to comment on your blog, I think I’ve told you about it before, it always directs me to an error page. I don’t know what I’m doing wrong there.
Suz | 08-Mar-06 at 7:23 pm | Permalink
And Claire, as for
“I don’t like some people reading it and there are good reasons for that.” — how about expressing some of those reasons so we can understand?
why didn’t you read the post I wrote and told you to read in the comment I wrote beforehand?
Peter | 08-Mar-06 at 8:09 pm | Permalink
I agree with Suz, no doubt there are people I wouldn’t like keeping track of me, as it happens I’m not overly keen on anyone knowing much about what I’m doing. I’ll happily admit that there are very few places (possibly none) on the internet where my full real name is listed and I wouldn’t be comfortable blogging under it, my friends know who I am and good luck to anyone else trying to learn much about me without help!
This is just a case of my natural distrust of the internet of course but oh well.
In reference to Claire when I put info on the net sometimes I don’t want the world to know about it, the net has just become the most (/only) convenient way to communicate with large groups of people. In reference to Dan yes if someone wants to find something to use against you they will but why hand it to them on a plate, “friends only” may not stop a moderately computer literate person but it does improve things slightly.
Becky Huntley | 08-Mar-06 at 8:32 pm | Permalink
I totally agree that expressing opinions and discussing ideas over the internet is one of its main puposes but i think commenting on your friends use is down right bitchy.
And there is a difference between being honest with your friends and being a bitch about something they do.
Your obviously upseting one of your friends and your acting so grown up and mature about it.
In conclution - stop acting like a complete dickhead
Eskoala | 09-Mar-06 at 1:32 am | Permalink
Sorry Suz, must have missed the reference to it, I don’t read friends only posts often as they are a pain to get at. Also, you didn’t provide me with a link, making me even less likely to have followed it had I seen it. The rest of my points in that reply to you still stand.
The impression I got from the fact that you commented openly on my blog in disagreement was that you wanted to discuss it in open forum, I’m sorry if that wasn’t the case. Next time you don’t want an argument don’t post a response on an open blog. At no point were my original comments directed toward you or Alec, simply to my future employer, as indicated by the title. JonA inspired me to leave a little time capsule for when the time arises. After you commented so aggressively yourself, I couldn’t help but provide a response, since it looks like that’s what you wanted.
It’s clear now that you don’t actually want to discuss your reasons, so I won’t bother countering your arguments, especially since they are in a friends only entry and counters wouldn’t make sense here. I believe I have already covered why I think you are wrong, in my response to the anonymous poster who later turned out to be you. Once again, apologies for any offence you took from my reply, none was intended.
Eskoala | 09-Mar-06 at 1:48 am | Permalink
Becky: the original reason I responded like that is because I was a little upset with the tone of Suz’s comment. I basically ripped the comment apart because I felt it was a very bad argument, that seemed to be asking me not to discuss what other people do just because Suz was one of those people. My argument against the idea of friends-only blogs isn’t and never was targeted at anyone in particular, I didn’t even expect a discussion to form here. When it did I responded, perhaps harshly, but I don’t think bitchily. I still don’t think anything I said was unreasonable.
Having said that, the fact that you think I’ve been bitchy makes me reconsider, as you’re known for speaking you mind. You’re probably right, but I certainly didn’t see it at the time, and though I re-read it I still see it in the sense that it was meant, as counter-argument and not bitchiness.
Hmm, you read my blog do you? Maybe now is the time to make it friends only…
Eskoala | 09-Mar-06 at 1:51 am | Permalink
Peter: yep, but I still don’t think a blog is the way to do it even when the internet is. A blog is a public diary, not a private forum. There are far more secure ways of exchanging information over the internet than putting it on a friends only blog.