Your posts today about that killer party last night where you did all that stuff that your mom wouldn’t like to hear about could cost you a job later.

Can you imagine having all the embarrassing (and potentially illegal) stuff you did in your teens open for your personal and professional world to see? I sure can’t. It was unlikely at that point that our escapades would be hear of or remembered past a small group of friends and classmates. These days, it’s sure that it will be stored digitally, somewhere, for the world to discover when you’re ready to run for President.

For this reason, teaching identity management is increasingly important. Teaching students (or at least your own kids) that they need to think twice before publishing anything. If your mother wouldn’t like to see it, you probably shouldn’t post it. This goes for letters, emails, texts, wall post, chats, or whatever other types of publication that you participate in.

One of the most important lessons is that all publications are potentially public. I don’t care if it’s to your best friend, don’t incriminate yourself. There is no privacy and no replacement for whispering in your friend’s ear while covering your mouth with your hand so the Feds can lip read 😉