What does your online persona say about you?

Let me clarify here, because I'm not talking about your avatar in a virtual world or your online dating profile.

What I mean is this: Would a web search reveal any skeletons in your social networking closet that might impact your future? For example, are you concerned about what college admissions counselors, scholarship search committees, or potential employers might find if they happened upon your MySpace  page?

On occasion I google  myself to find mentions of this blog or, since I serve as a company spokesperson, any news articles referencing Wells Fargo student loans. Sure, this research is necessary for my job — but honestly, I am curious. Who isn't?

So far, I haven't found any surprises (good, bad, or otherwise). I try to be careful — I blog only for work, and for the most part, I keep my Facebook  profile settings private. Even so, in the online world, nothing's really all that private.

If you're a high school student, college student, or a soon-to-be graduate, you probably have a far more active and visible online persona than I do. What precautions are you taking to keep your online self cloaked? Or do you use the internet to highlight your accomplishments and market yourself?

Posted by Staci at 10:15 AM |  Contact Staci |  Permalink  |  Comments (0)
Found in Facebook, MySpace, Preparing, Social networking, Wells Fargo Bank