NEVER PUT ANYTHING POTENTIALLY DAMAGING IN EMAIL

Or on MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, or what have you. I'm reminded of a teacher who directed her students to her MySpace (or Facebook, I can't remember) page for an assignment, whereupon they found photos of her partying pretty hard.

I've heard people saying that they've been denying colleagues and employers access to Facebook pages because they didn't want those people to see the photos and personal thoughts on their pages. My reasoning? If you don't want certain people to see it, don't put it on the FREAKING INTERNET. If you write something bad about an acquaintance, but you think it's okay because you haven't friended them, so they won't see it, you're deluding yourself and woefully ignorant of how the FREAKING INTERNET works. Another acquaintance will innocently mention your page to the first acquaintance, or to your friend you posted embarrassing pictures of, or to your boss whom you ragged on in your blog. There are many examples of MySpace and Facebook bitchery like this over at passiveaggressivenotes.com. Is it bad that I like laughing at the stupidity of people?

If you don't want everyone to see it, don't put it on the internet. I'm sorry, I meant the FREAKING INTERNET.

Word.

Especially with the supreme court ruling how employers have a right to the content on mobile phones and devices they provide you with.

Additionally, even small companies can push a button to see every email you send, every web site you visit.

It is a lot more trouble for employers and likely illegal for them to tap a land line.

Don't put it in writing, don't put in an email and don't post it to the web unless you would do it in front of your boos as well as your mother.

I think Klein's a guy I could never get along with, and the Journolist was a nightmare waiting to happen, but I really like the way he wrapped up that first paragraph:

"I learned about his position, and why he held it, in ways that I wouldn't have if our argument had remained in front of an audience."

Everytime someone says blog comments or other internet fora are brutal and uncouth, I think of the stupidities that people bring to their first postings.

When people first come to the internet, they often feign sophistication, education and insight which have no basis in reality. And because it's anonymous, they think they should be able to get away with it... After all, we can't really check anyone's credentials, right? But almost always, another commenter will point out the foolishness and naiveté of that first comment... And will usually add an insult like "numbnuts".

Truth is, the newcomer deserves that insult. There are a lot of people out there, next to us on the freeway in front of us in the grocery line, who can't make it through the day or even get out of bed until they've convinced themselves that they're a lot more competent than they actually are... But over a lifetime, they've learned to keep this fantasy to themselves.

And then they go online, and are surprised that the rest of the world isn't impressed... And has some really, really excellent reasons not to be impressed. Some people are smart enough to listen to those reasons, as well as feel the sting of the insult.

But what's ironic about this is that Klein's Journolist was mostly away of preventing this reality check. The exclusivity of which he's so proud sucked in a huge percentage of the (published) editorial power in the country, a power that's being weakened every day anyway.

"Don't write anything you can phone. Don't phone anything you can talk. Don't talk anything you can whisper. Don't whisper anything you can smile. Don't smile anything you can nod. Don't nod anything you can wink." - Earl Long

...I consider myself one of these volk - so I typically keep my opinions to myself. (You're welcome!) :)

Amy, there's another important reason to discuss important things on the phone or face-to-face. Put simply, it's way too easy to write more in a more inflammatory way than intended and/or to be taken out of context in an e-mail or text msg. Sure, it's "easier" to not confront a person face-to-face with something important but it's the cowardly way out ... and often backfires.

I don't buy Klein's faux-naif pose here. He never dreamed that someone on the list might hate someone else on the list enough to shaft the guy? The list members are journalists--most aren't happy until someone else fails--even if they're winning.

I have a friend who has a blog, who was actually stupid enough to bitch and complain on said blog about getting laid off, and how it was "political" (and of course NOT HER FAULT, but yet she never actually seemed to GO to work more than 3 days in a row) and how she saw this as being picked on, and how she had been picked on in the past, causing her to lose other jobs (anyone seeing a pattern here?) and she LINKED TO THIS BLOG WHERE ANY POTENTIAL EMPLOYER CAN SEE IT.

And she wonders why she's freelancing and only getting 12 hours worth of work a week.

The mind boggles.