Part II – I took my social networking experiment a step further. I added an application on Facebook called Ustream.tv. It allows you to stream your webcam to the world so anyone can see you any time that you are broadcasting (yes, you control it). Now anyone can click on the little Facebook application and, if I’m on, can see me and what I am doing. Most of it will involve sitting and staring (I do a LOT on the computer – email, research about ministries, etc.) so it won’t be that exciting, but I am curious as to the response I’ll get. I did choose to keep the sound off. I’m not ready for the world to hear everything just yet!.
Part III – I had a meeting in Memphis yesterday at a well-known ministry to kick off a project we are working on together. I met a lady there who opened with “How are Melinda and the kids?”. I stood there a little taken aback (at first I thought she was talking to someone else and it was a major coincidence) while I scrambled to search the file folders of my brain to see if I knew her (I did grow up in Memphis). Before I could say anything, she told me that she knew I went to Memphis State around the same time she did, and mentioned a previous Memphis-based employer I had worked for. Now I was really starting to panic, thinking how did I know this woman?! I think she saw the confused look in my eyes, because she put me out of my misery and told me she had found my LinkedIn (a business networking site. There’s a link to my profile to the left) profile and had read this blog. After having a good laugh about the whole thing, I thought about my previous post.
There is a LOT of information about me, out there for anyone to see. Could that ever be used against me? I try to keep things above reproach, so I’m not concerned morally, but it’s a little disconcerting to have perfect strangers know all this info about me and use it causally in a conversation at our first meeting! Now, the lady I met was extremely sweet and I would never question someone like her having the information she had. But what about not so well-intentioned folk?
Again, I don’t have the answers, and I’m not ready to remove my digital footprint from the web, but maybe I can end with this challenge – have you ever Googled yourself? You should try it and see what information comes up about you! If nothing comes up, and you want to keep it that way – great! If nothing comes up and you are a little disappointed, maybe it’s time to venture out into cyberspace a little further. Start a blog or get on Facebook. The internet is here to stay, and you can either hide from it, or jump in with both feet. Just remember to have fun, and always look for the good in people and not assume the worst about their intentions.