By Mary Milligan
A lecture regarding social networking was held on September 4, to educate students on the importance of being responsible online.
Gail Hand, a published author with two books focusing on the importance of smart social networking, lectured the importance of maintaining a good online image. The event was held in Whitaker at 7 p.m. and 8:20 p.m. on Thursday, September 4.
She focused on what is and what is not appropriate to be put online via social networks such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and she briefly discussed LinkedIn with the audience. Gail emphasized to think before you post and the consequences of what you are posting. She pointed out that if there is a picture of you on Facebook; it is most likely on Google as well. If you do not want something to be on Google, do not put it on Facebook. Many employers search a name during the hiring process, so if there is something you do not want them to see on your Facebook it could still be showing up on Google.
She expressed the importance of knowing who has your back when it comes to posting pictures. She said “You are your own media director,” meaning that you have the power of what is posted about you online. Her explanation of this went into asking your friends to take down inappropriate pictures that they posted of you, but most importantly try and remember where you are and who you are with because you never know where a photo will turn up and who will see it. Again, any employer could see this if it is posted on any form of social media.
She advised everyone to regularly search their name on Google to not only make sure that you do not have anything that makes you look bad, but to also ensure that no one else with the same name makes you look bad. If this happens there are a variety of measures she suggests you take, including contacting Google to ask for them to be removed. If there are pictures on the internet that may look bad to employers or anyone else for that matter it can really affect your
future. Gail really pointed out the consequences of what could happen if you use social media inappropriately.
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