In case you haven’t been following the news, here’s a story that has been raising a lot of controversy.
The name of the article is, “Town Requires Job Seekers To Reveal Social Media Passwords”, by Aba Journal. In part, it says the City of Bozeman, Montana is requiring the following information from it’s applicants:
“Please list any and all, current personal or business websites, web pages or memberships on any Internet-based chat rooms, social clubs or forums, to include, but not limited to: Facebook, Google, Yahoo, YouTube.com, MySpace, etc.”
The city form then offers three lines for applicants to list websites, their user names and log-in information and their passwords, Montana News Station reports.
Today’s Lesson
In a previous lesson we discussed how then President Elect Obama required those who would be working in his administration to list all of their online personalities/activities, etc. Some of the information he requested was,
(10) Writings: Please list and, if readily available, provide a copy of each book, article, column or publication (including but not limited to any post or comments on blogs or other websites) you have authored, individually or with others. Please list all aliases or “handles” you have used to communicate on the Internet.
(58) Please provide the URL address of any websites that feature you in either a personal or professional capacity (e.g. Facebook, My Space, etc.)
(61) Have you had any association with any person, group or business venture that could be used – even unfairly – to impugn or attack your character and qualifications for government service?
(63) Please provide any other information, including information about other members of your family, that could suggest a conflict of interest or be a possible source of embarrassment to you, your family, or the President-Elect.
Although he wasn’t asking for log-in information and/or passwords (to my knowledge), he did want documentation of the applicant’s online participation.
Having read both the Aba Journal article and “City to Job Applicants – Facebook, MySpace Log Ins, Please” by Arstechnica.com, the biggest issue is the fact this employer is asking for login names and passwords.
Many who commented say this is an invasion of privacy, as well as a breach of the TOS (terms of service) for some sites, whereas,
City Attorney Greg Sullivan is quoted as defending the policy: “We have positions ranging from fire and police, which require people of high integrity for those positions, all the way down to the lifeguards and the folks that work in city hall here. So we do those types of investigations to make sure the people that we hire have the highest moral character and are a good fit for the city.”
What do you think?
Today’s Assignment
If you were applying for a job and they asked you the same, what would you do?
Do you want to know what your governmental (City, State, Federal) employees are doing online?
Considering the fact our tax dollars pay their wages, is it our right to know? Or, should the personal life of governmental employees be exempt from scrutiny?
Let’s talk about this one.
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Hi. I'm Barbara Swafford and I'd like to welcome you to Blogging Without A Blog. Grab a seat, share your thoughts and join in the conversation. 
Good Day Class!
Remember Tracy, of I Hate My Message Board? When I interviewed her last month, she told us what happened when a post of hers went viral (see: For The Sake Of The Children, Blog Smart)
Today, we have the honor of having her as our substitute teacher (guest writer).
Tracy will discuss another source of traffic to our blogs we often forget about – forums. As the owner and administrator of I Hate My Message Board Forum, she’s here to share the rules of engagement.
Without further ado, here’s Tracy.
Hello Class!
It’s great to be here.
Please take a moment to review the exhibit and then we’ll get on with the lesson.
Today’s Lesson
Forums can be a good traffic source for bloggers. I estimate 15% of my traffic comes from forums.
It can be an ego booster and deliver new readers or you can feel personally attacked and helpless.
Here are some hints on what to do when you find a forum link in your referrals.
Decide if what, if any, action you’ll take.
I get a kick out of the Air Force’s blogger engagement chart and I think it applies to forums, too. There is no need to respond to posters who are hostile to you and it will probably backfire.
Likewise, if they are just happily discussing the contents of your post, you have no obligation to respond if you aren’t interested or don’t have the time. If you would like to respond, keep these points in mind:
Don’t spam or overly self-promote .
Forum owners are inundated with spam and could remove your post if it seems like you are only there for self-promotion or to sell something.
If the forum allows it, you can put a link to your blog in your signature, but I’d be hesitant to ask people to subscribe or provide additional links back to your blog, unless they are directly related to the topic being discussed.
Add value
Do the posters have questions that you can answer? Do you have additional information that’s helpful? Can you provide other resources?
Helping others is a great way to establish your expertise and get people interested enough to take a deeper look at your blog. Remember, forums are indexed by search engines, too!
Debate but use caution.
Just like comments on our own blogs, the key is to state your argument without losing your cool or being insulting. Show off your wit, but be gracious.
I think that it would be wise to do a quick scan of other posts on the forum to get a feel for the general culture. Some welcome a lively discussion while others are more geared to people saying what they think and that’s that. On the latter, it would go over better to simply thank them for reading your post, if you want to say anything at all.
If it gets ugly, leave.
There is no reason at all for you to subject yourself to people insulting you or not being respectful. You don’t owe them any explanations, chances are they’ll forget quickly that you posted once or twice and left but getting visibly upset can be a red flag to some internet users.
Consider linking back.
If the conversation went well and you think your blog readers would enjoy it, sharing the link is appropriate but not obligatory.
But don’t trash talk.
If it didn’t go well, it’s tempting to post a rant on you blog. You’ll likely get a lot of sympathetic comments, but again, red flag to others. If you want to discuss it, do it after you’ve cooled down.
Forum traffic can be very valuable.
Taking a moment to think before you act can save you unnecessary headaches and possibly earn you traffic years to come. It’s upsetting sometimes when people are talking about our posts in a medium where we have no control, but take comfort that it’s a sign that you’re on the map.
Today’s Assignment
Have you been linked to from forums?
Did you reply on the forum or address it on your blog?
Do you actively use forums as a source of traffic? If not, why not?
Raise your hand and share your thoughts.