So, what EXACTLY do you look for on myspace?

[Lil' Hannah]

Originally Posted by KSigkid

They should be, but they aren't. I know there are employers/grad schools that look online at candidates, and that includes MySpace pages, Facebook pages, etc. I mean, you can obviously make your page private, but people are judged on first impressions. If the job or scholastic position is high-competition, anything unprofessional or questionable about the applicant will be a detriment. Maybe it's not fair, but that's life..

Truth.

-Lil' Hannah
--HR professional who looks up candidates on MySpace

[Cardinal026]

I agree with keeping it private or at least discreet...its your choice to put information up on the internet, just like its other's option to look at it. When I was active my chapter had a policy in the bylaws about keeping facebook/webshots, etc clean because it reflected on the sorority - if you see all of XYZs w/ drunk, half naked pictures you'll make an assumption about the sorority, and I can see an employer also not wanting its employees to reflect them in a negative light. And my company also looks at those pages.

As for what I look for on Myspace, when I get added by someone, I usually just look to see if its possible that I know them - college, highschool, current location. I'm just not interested in adding someone that I don't know.

[ISUKappa]

Originally Posted by Cardinal026

As for what I look for on Myspace, when I get added by someone, I usually just look to see if its possible that I know them - college, highschool, current location. I'm just not interested in adding someone that I don't know.

Yep. I don't really use it much, anyway; mostly to see what people are up to with whom I may not have otherwise kept in touch.

[EE-BO]

I was not even aware of MySpace until earlier this year.

Maybe I am more of a privacy nut than most, but I cannot imagine putting those kinds of details about myself on the internet for anyone to see.

Purely out of curiosity- what is the real benefit of being out there on MySpace? Do people really meet that many new real life friends or make connections for work? I just ask because the potential downsides seem so great. Maybe in certain lines of work it is more helpful than in others?

As for the employment thing- this is an interesting angle. I have been sitting here trying to think of how that could result in some kind of lawsuit- but I really can't. When you put yourself out there in the public eye in an unflattering way, then you have to expect others will consider that in evaluating you as a potential employee.

[KSigkid]

For me, it's been a way to get back into touch with some friends, and an easier way to keep in touch with others. Also, I've had some friends track me down. Of course, they can't see my information unless I "friend" them, and the only picture I have are ones that aren't embarassing. Additionally, I don't have any of my contact info on my page. People would have to message me, and would have to have my email address through other means to even email me.

[KSig RC]

Originally Posted by KSigkid

For me, it's been a way to get back into touch with some friends, and an easier way to keep in touch with others. Also, I've had some friends track me down. Of course, they can't see my information unless I "friend" them, and the only picture I have are ones that aren't embarassing. Additionally, I don't have any of my contact info on my page. People would have to message me, and would have to have my email address through other means to even email me.

Yeah, exactly - the beauty of myspace is that superficial or simple messages can be shipped instantly, and conveniently. Instead of calling ksigkid to go "OH GOD I HATE THE YANKEES WHY DID THEY HAVE TO GET ABREU FOR DICK" I can drop him a message. It's not very personal, but then again we can discuss personal issues via personal means - I can always email him if I have something important to say. I almost never have anything important to say, so the superficial messages can be passed along much more easily.

However, as a buddy of mine put it, it is truly the forum for the self-absorbed - just read this thread, it's hilarious, and it's from people in the top 15% or so of educational strata.

My page can't be found by searching for my name - it's not listed under my real name, and I have a different email address for use w/ clients and employers. There are enough identifying details that anyone who knows me can find me, but not enough to locate me if you're trying to "fight, yo" . . . however, I've seen people list their kids' names, schools, etc - it's just like life: there are varying degrees of both stupidity, and risk tolerance, but most people don't know the difference between the two.

[KSigkid]

Originally Posted by KSig RC

My page can't be found by searching for my name - it's not listed under my real name, and I have a different email address for use w/ clients and employers. There are enough identifying details that anyone who knows me can find me, but not enough to locate me if you're trying to "fight, yo" . . . however, I've seen people list their kids' names, schools, etc - it's just like life: there are varying degrees of both stupidity, and risk tolerance, but most people don't know the difference between the two.

And I've also seen people link to their employers in the profiles, and then post blogs about "OMG I HATE WORK" postings. I question the wisdom of venting about personal things through a semi-public page, except for, of course, venting about ones favorite sports teams.

Originally Posted by EE-BO

Purely out of curiosity- what is the real benefit of being out there on MySpace? Do people really meet that many new real life friends or make connections for work? I just ask because the potential downsides seem so great. Maybe in certain lines of work it is more helpful than in others?

When I joined MySpace over three years ago, I joined because everyone was doing it. It was a way to keep up with current friends.

Since then it's been a tremendous help in locating high school classmates, and that's important because my 10 year reunion's next year.

I don't use it to make new friends. I'm quite content with those I know now, and when I get friend requests from someone I don't know...it's just easy to hit that reject button. I know 99.9% of those friends I have saved IRL. The other 0.9% are individuals I met via GC.

[KSUViolet06]

Outside of a few girls from GC, I only add people I know.

I don't use MySpace to meet people. It has been great in helping me keep in touch with people from high school and such.

[valkyrie]

I don't look for people on Myspace. I use it to look for music/DJs/local events/sports-related stuff and to send messages -- for whatever reason, I seem to use Myspace over email/IM to get in touch with a few people.

I've been trying to get all the irrelevant shit off my page, which is more of a pain in the ass than I ever imagined. I also don't put much of my business out there because, well, why?

[Kevin]

I work in a law office which does a substantial amount of family law.

You'd be surprised what adverse parties put on their myspace pages.. hilarious..

E.g., "OMG Last night, I was SOOOOooo High!!!"

3 postings later...

"I love my little girl."

-- People on that site have a touch of the downs I think.

[amanda6035]

Thank you. This thread just made me change my settings.

I use a my .edu address for my resumes (not my regular email), and I just removed my first name from my information so it wouldnt show up in a search. Initially, I had removed my last name, but realized that...people need either last name or email to add to my friends list.

I wanted to leave it public, not like I really have anything to hide, but hopesully it makes it harder to search for me now - now that I'm 6 weeks shy of graduating and finally getting job interviews.