For your eyes only, Steffi

Yesterday Steffi complained about me not blogging frequently enough and somehow I talked myself into posting this post so her lust for information shalth be dealt with for a couple days again.

When I threatened her with putting up a picture as well she didn’t really like that idea and said that she didn’t want any photos of her being posted online whatsoever. 

Now that got me thinking. 

We’re living in a world full of compact digital cameras. Every other bar you go to will have someone taking pictures, or a website where anyone may upload their pictures. The guy on the other side of the street could be taking photos of those sights, but just as well could get your picture and afterwards upload it to his “I stalk all kinds of strangers” website.

Now I don’t think anyone would worry about pictures of him running around the city in broad daylight, despite it might not be a welcome thing to everyone too. But what about those nightshots? In the bar? After, let’s say, 5 beers? 

Social networking websites offer loads of opportunities to share your snapshots, including those showing everyone else. And I myself am a huge fan and user of those functions, especially with photos I know people would prefer not to be seen online (they tend to be more interesting, don’t they?). But what does all that mean?

In fact it means that keeping secrets gets harder. And, in my humble opinion, that’s a good thing. It’s about realizing that eventually people will find out. Just “eventually” these days tends to be sooner than a couple years ago. It means: Don’t do things you’re going to be embarassed about. And the things you do don’t be embarassed about. Why should you, anyways? We’re all just people and flaws are what makes a person interesting, lovely, fun to talk to. 

Once again we’re back at the world wide web and once again I got to say: Better you publish a lot of info about yourself. Better you do that google-search about yourself every couple days. Comment on stuff others post about you. Do that google-search about yourself every couple days. Post more by yourself than others do. Or avoid having anything about you posted at all. Do that google-search about yourself every couple days. These are really the only ways to control your online appearance.

As soon as there are those pictures with you partying hard with some drinks too much in your blood showing up as the first search results you’ve lost control and it’ll be hard to get it back.

Do you know, at all, what people find when they search for you?