My hometown paper, The Washington Post, has a (for once) terrific and thoughtful article on the public policy and employment law implications of social networks: that which you have done in the past but recorded for your own memory, can now be easily used against you.
Quoth the Post:
It's almost like Googling someone: Log on to Facebook. Join the Washington, D.C., network. Search the Web site for your favorite school system. And then watch the public profiles of 20-something teachers unfurl like gift wrap on the screen, revealing a sense of humor that can be overtly sarcastic or unintentionally unprofessional -- or both.
One Montgomery County special education teacher displayed a poster that depicts talking sperm and invokes a slang term for oral sex. One woman who identified herself as a Prince William Countykindergarten teacher posted a satiric shampoo commercial with a half-naked man having an orgasm in the shower. A D.C. public schools educator offered this tip on her page: "Teaching in DCPS -- Lesson #1: Don't smoke crack while pregnant."
Sarcastic? Yeah. Unprofessional? I'm not so sure. I think the danger begins when you identify yourself by your employer. While we were all proud to post that first job on Facebook, many of us neglected to take down photos or change profiles. And then they caught on. I saw an old employer's H.R. director on Facebook. As much as I considered her a friend, there were parts of my life I wasn't comfortable sharing. So, I blocked her.
I also went through the trouble of blocking the network of another employer from viewing this sight. Hindsight being 20/20, many of them have written to me since unblocking it in complementary terms, but I did out of an abundance of caution, not to mention never making a single reference to where I worked or what I did for living. I live a very public life (or as my friend Andy Beal says, a Radically Transparent lifestyle - BUY HIS BOOK!).
While many of those interviewed for the article took the reasonable (and rational) view that work and personal lives are separate,
I know that employers will look at that page, and I need to be more careful," said Webster, adding that other Prince William teachers have warned her about her page. "At the same time, my work and social lives are completely separate. I just feel they shouldn't take it seriously. I am young. I just turned 22."
many school systems are wrestling with the problem, as teachers are in a way, public figures, and certainly role models. To the credit of some systems, they aren't reacting in a knee-jerk fashion. Pulled on one hand by the need to maintain reputations, but on another by the need to recruit quality teachers who are enthusiastic about their jobs (anecdotal evidence shows young adults with healthy personal lives have better interpersonal and workplace skills) they are walking a fine tightrope, and to some, it may come down to a
Justice Potter Stewart-style "I know it when I see it" mentality which some smart employment lawyers are going to have to codify.
One thing does bother me, though. Look at this quote. The first part seems totally reasonable, but read the second sentence:
Local school officials say they have no policies concerning social networking pages or blogs kept by teachers. But they said that online improprieties would fall under general guidelines requiring proper behavior in and outside school and that sketchy Web sites would be handled case by case.
"I hate to think of what's out there. . . . There's so much out there that it's hard to know what's there," said Ken Blackstone, a Prince William schools spokesman. "But as public employees, we all understand the importance of living a public life above reproach."
Above Reproach? Get thy recruiter to a nunnery, Mr. Blackstone! Here is the sad truth, you will find eager young men and women who
want to be teachers. Inspired by one of their own, or driven by a calling or desire to help or do good, they apply for underpaid, overworked positions which are afforded little respect by parents or the institutions which they serve.
How can you expect a 22 year old graduate to have lived his whole life "above reproach" when at 19, he probably had no clue where he would be 2 years later, much less 2 hours after his time on the beach with his friends.
I fear that our employment laws have gaping hole when it comes to "at-will" employment a blogs, profile pages, and personal expression outside the workplace that in some cases, begins years before a young adult enters the work force.
I once suggested to a friendly supervisor of mine that Mr. Beal's book be required reading for HR departments, PR departments, and all new hires of this "Facebook Generation" (I hate that term but I'll use it anyway".
This "Transparent" generation is going to have to learn to transition their online lives in the same way we wouldn't show a perfect stranger our entire photo album, but workplaces and governments are going to have to develop guidelines on what is acceptable and what is not, and is it better in the hiring process to use the "clean up your profile" speech as a tool for weeding out perceived miscreants, or could it be used to dig deeper to find people who are outgoing, social, energetic and enthusiastic about their schools, their social lives, and eventually their jobs?
In other words, is it not so far-fetched that the 22 year old chugging coronas on the beach will put the same energy, commitment, and enough pride to advertise how much she loves her work into a job she cares about, with an employer who understands the transition into adulthood and the new responsibilities that come with it?
At the risk of rambling, if I was a Human Resources recruiter cruising Facebook and could choose between someone with a sanitized, vanilla profile (A), and someone who was an active member of the community, debauchery and all (B), I'd probably bring them both in for a second round.
To (A): It's obvious you cleaned this up knowing we'd be looking. What do you have to hide?
To (B): I think there are some things here that need to be more carefully placed if you're going to be associated with this employer, but can you tell me a story about something on here take gives me a better impression of you?
I may be crazy, but barring something out of this world stupid, I am going to hire B, as long as he can tell me a story that gives me more insight into who he is, how he relates to his friends, and if he'd bring the energy it took to take that 9 foot beer bong to teaching math.
A wise person once told me, "get passionate people and get passionate results." You're never going to find perfect people. If you do, they're probably either 1) boring or 2) liars and don't merit a second look either way. If they're transparent and honest, and that transparency shows something, an energy, enthusiasm, or joie de vivre that can, with proper guidance and mentoring translate into the workplace, by all means, give them a chance. Knowing more about them make syou a better supervisor, makes them trust you more, and allows them to walk into their workplace without fear, and instead bring the same confidence they showed on a Mexican beach to an American classroom.
But make sure they clean up their public profile, just in case.
