Semester 2 - Post 10

I read a recent article titled "Making Kids 'Googlable'" written by Will Richardson. In this post Will talks about how he has been asking principals and administrators at schools if, when they have an applicant lined up for a possible teaching position, they "Google" them? Many of them admit to this and say yes, they do do a standard Google search to see what things, good or bad, may come up about the potential hire. Some of them even admit doing a Myspace search of the applicant. Usually, they say, the intent is to simply see if anything negative, or even positive, surfaces about the applicant. So then Will proceeds to ask what these principals and administrators are doing to insure that their students will be able to be "Googled well" when they go into interviews in the future. Not just educating the students not to post certain things online, but how to shape a positive portfolio so that in the future, when the employers may run a search, they will find a lack of negatives, but also plenty of positives.

I found this article very interesting because no one really thinks about the future when they are putting things about themselves online, whether it's on Myspace, Facebook, or whatever site. It is important to be careful what you are putting online so that it doesn't make you look bad if future possible employers were to do a search on you. I also found it interesting that these principals had done Google searches on their applicants, it makes sense, I just don't think I would have thought to do something like that.

This article relates to me in that I am a student and I need to take into consideration the things that may be going online about me, even though I don't have a Myspace or a Facebook. It really just brings to reality how easy it is for someone to look you up online and find things they might not want you to find.