keep it clean

working in a university career center, i'm often reminded to be mindful of my virtual contributions to the world. more often than i'd care to recount, i'm hearing stories of job offers revoked and internships ended thanks to unprofessionalism in cyberspace.

while not the forefront of larry lessig's chat on "speech, privacy, and the internet" at chicago university law school, it's the message that struck me the hardest: not only is your virtual footprint public to the world wide web and anyone who cares to take a peek, but it sticks around permanently.

i have long been interested in bringing someone to campus to talk to students in a workshop format about cleaning up their digital data strewn across the interwebs and brought to light by a simple google search. i often think if giving the talk myself, my message would be simple and clear: think about what you are contributing in the first place. before commenting on a blog or tweeting something out, pause and consider its interpretation if associated with your name out of context. i'm a big fan of free speech, but just as it's not the wisest thing to publicly berate a professor who has shirked you a grade or two, it's also a good idea to keep it clean on the web.

(on another totally separate note, i loved larry's slide deck. that's probably the third or fourth presentation of that kind that i've seen and i desperately want to learn the art form! hundreds of slides over a perfectly choreographed 60-minute speech. kogod should offer a course on this brilliance!)