Recently, a disgruntled Twitter employee leveraged the social media platform she worked for to express her discontent with its new chief executive officer. As you may suspect, the company terminated her employment. Yes, she has the freedom of speech guaranteed by the First Amendment to our Constitution, but her employer also has the freedom to choose who it employs. Over and over I see this. During the last week I have seen it twice on Facebook, with one instance the Facebook friend hash-tagging his employer after delivering a scathing opinion. It is an extremely bold move, and one that an individual must be prepared to live with the repercussions -- not just with the current employer but also with future employers. Yes, the Internet is forever. When you put something on social media, you must be prepared for it to be dug up and potentially used to cast judgment on your work ethic, values, and suitability for employment and/or access to sensitive information. This extends to "keyboard warriors" who think they have anonymity when posting vile and combative language on chat forums, but occasionally they are exposed to show who they really are. Let me repeat, the Internet is forever. Keep your input to the world-wide web clean. A good rule of thumb is to not post anything you would not want your grandma to read or you would want posted on the front page of the Washington Post. This will ensure that you do not type your way out of a job, scholarship, relationship or other opportunity.
A Scout is Clean.