I was looking through my Facebook today and i came across this article that was being shared on the late Joshua Benjamin Jeyaretnam. For those who don’t know him, he was an opposition member in the parliament. You can read more about him here.
Now while i respect what he did, i was hesitant about sharing his story further using my logged in Facebook account. Why? Because i like the PAP, i don’t get whats the fuss about the lack of freedom of speech in Singapore, i think it’s fine. And i’m worried that by sharing this article, it might make me appear to be inclining towards supporting the opposition. Essentially, I’m worried about my internet footprint. Sure, its no big deal to some, but don’t you worry? I mean Google and Yahoo! have web anaylytics now that can track your movement for targeting their advertisements to you. Don’t you think the government could do the same with your behavior? (Watch Eagle Eye and you know what i mean…)
Am i paranoid? I don’t think so, your internet footprint can leave a huge impact on your future state. Daryl has a post on your online identity and how it could affect your employment prospects here and here. Is it not worrying that HR has turned to just Googling Yahooing your name? That my blog and my facebook profile are the things that they are going to see. To make matters worse, if you live in a small country like Singapore, everyone knows everyone somehow and it isn’t all that hard to trace.
Think it only applies to the general community? Think again! Even politicians are affected, in a big big way… This post demonstrates how conservative candidates in Canada have been affected by their past, or rather, by the internet footprint they’ve left behind….
So still thinking of cursing at your boss on your twitter or blog? Still wanna post those drunken pics? Maybe it’s time we do up 2 accounts, one for professional views and the other purely for social networking.
What have you done to control your internet footprint?
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