Public or Private?

This is an issue which I've been struggling with lately: public or private web presence. My Twitter account is public so anyone can read any of my posts and subscribe to follow me. I have no control over who sees what, so I must be careful in publishing. When things are public, you can't divulge too much personal information, including names of people, places you frequent, or even if you're on vacation or not home. I might sound paranoid, but there's a ton of research about how easy we make it for predators and other criminals if we put too much information online. Here's an article from the Examiner further elaborating on that issue. Applications for smart phones that tell where you are at a given time seem ill-advised for that same reason.


If your settings for a given social networking site are set to private, it means you have to accept (or deny if you don't know them or don't wish to be sharing things with them) requests from people who want to "be your friend" or "follow" you before they can see your personal information. For each site, there are varying degrees of privacy options as well. It definitely pays to be discreet by keeping things private when you're on the verge of graduating or seeking employment because more and more employers look to social media to tell them about you.


On the other hand, professionals that rely on networking and word of mouth to get them positions and connections almost need their profiles to be open in order to form those connections. Again, this means that anyone could view your information and other things you share. This is beneficial for networking because other designers, for example, can stumble onto your profile. You just have to remember that other people you may not want to be associated with may be able to leave traces on your pages as well and yet others could obtain personal information about you that you may not even realize you're letting slip.


So is it worth it to keep your web presence - especially on social networking sites - public or should you go private?

Being Absent

I feel like I've been absent from this blog for awhile and there is a reason for that. In addition to it being my last year in college (and now my last semester), I'm also a blogger for La Roche College. Feel free to check out that blog at http://sarahatlrc.blogspot.com


I will begin making more time for this blog again soon though because I am currently in the process of beginning my own website to showcase my design work. Finally! I have a feeling this semester will be a busy one, but I'm hoping it will also be a very memorable one.