When Is Open, TOO Open?
When I did hiring for Apple, I always checked out people’s profiles on facebook. Never once did someone’s profile hurt them. One person who applied did have a sketchy profile, but he never followed up with his resume, thus absolving me from any bias. Similarly, a professor I know (who shall remain nameless) reported to me that she checked all facebook profiles for students applying to her department. She also said that there was no negative impact from looking at the profiles (and in fact, she found some candidates MORE appealing after looking at their profiles, as it gave them some pizzazz that their application materials lacked).
But when does having an unregulated facebook profile actually work against you? Are there times when being open about your life is actually TOO open? No doubt, thousands of people have been negatively impacted by information they’ve placed on the web, but I don’t really care about employment considerations. Have you looked up one of your professors on facebook and been disturbed by what you found?
I just did this today – AUGH! As much as it makes me think of this certain professor as a “real” person, I did not really want to see him in social settings! I’m not disturbed by what I saw, but I generally have an expectation that someone who is very professional in the classroom is probably the same way in the outside world. Once again, my expectations have been betrayed.
Here’s what facebook needs – an easy way to setup a “public” profile that different from the one your friends see. And I’m not talking about being able to select different modules for display to different audiences. With some tinkering, you can already do that. I’m talking about being able to display different music, different interests, different everything for people who aren’t your friends (or even potentially different friend groups). This way, someone can interact with students via facebook, but not have to worry about being embarrassed when personal and school lives intersect.
Actually, looking up professors on facebook (I’m already friends with my advisor Lyn, so why not my other professors too?) makes me want to change my settings so my students could see some of my information. I think this is possible, though we shall see. If facebook is ever to become a truly respectable communication medium, it ought to work to segregate information. After all, communicating by email with a student can be completely professional, even if my other emails are nothing but forwards about pornography, prostitutes, and vampire fetishes.
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