Ever feel that those shots of you doing a keg stand in a bikini might be hindering your career? German politicians say they have a solution: ban potential employers from looking at applicants’ Facebook accounts.
A law that passed through the German cabinet Wednesday makes looking at any closed social network illegal, but looking at professional networking Web sites, like LinkedIn, or running a Google search on an applicant, would be OK.
The measure still needs to go through parliament.
Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière told reporters Wednesday that future employers shouldn’t be looking at information they would only want to show to friends like “wild photos from their college time.” It would also be illegal to try and “friend” a potential employee to find out personal details.
Social media expert Klemens Skibicki, a professor for marketing at Cologne Business School, thinks the measure would be incredibly difficult to enforce. Much of the information can be found by third party search engines such as 123people (http://www.123people.com/) and it would be difficult to determine if the employer was using a fake account or an IP address changer to access data.
Your takeaway from this post…
You have to understand that there is no line between work and personal at this point in time. While Germany may make this a law, we are not as protected. As such, you need to be careful.
Dennis and I had lunch with a friend and we had fun at their expense over some pictures. They were just having fun, but the next time this person applies somewhere, it could be a hindrance. Be careful of what you post. While internet marketers have a tendency to add a little “yeast” to their bio’s/backgrounds, it can also come back to haunt you down the road. Especially if lititgation kicks in.
We tell all of our clients that you should be in the mix social media wise. But your Mother was probably right when she said, “If you can’t say something nice, perhaps you shouldn’t say anything at all”. At the very least, give thought to what you are posting. If you think your spouse or mother would be offended by your comments, that is probably a good indication you need to alter them.
Am I saying not to be truthful? Not at all. You just don’t need to be mean about it. People who know me understand that I can be blunt and to the point at times, especially in person. Online or through correspondence I have come to check myself and think how it is going to be received before I actually let it out in the universe, Perhaps you should too!
Can you tell us about something such as a blog comment or email that blew up in your face either at work or with customers/clients?
Believe it or not, not doing social media right can actually harm your business.
If you are looking for free tips or advice on how to approach your social media, go to Social Media Dudes
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Finally, those are my thoughts from high atop my 2nd floor office above my garage. What I want to hear are YOUR comments. Please leave one now.
If you are looking for free tips or advice on how to approach your social media, go to Social Media Dudesand subscribe to your newsletter in the upper left hand corner! Still not convinced that social media is right for your business? Read this and get our F.R.E.E. report on the 7 Myths of Social Media! Or follow our tweets on Twitter at twitter.com/johnpanico Finally, those are my thoughts from high atop my 2nd floor office above my garage. What I want to hear are YOUR comments. Please leave one now.
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