Dan Sherman

Jonathan Eakman demonsrates poor online reputation management

So apparently, this guy named Jonathan Eakman managed to break into Google’s Hot Trends (100 current hottest searches on Google) because one of his 180 “friends” on Facebook leaked something he psoted to his wall. What was it they shared with the public that made people so curious about him so quickly?

He got kicked out of grad school before he even started.

Start taking the time to consider what it is you’re sharing on your Facebook profile, you Twitter feed, or anywhere else online. Even email is only click away from being shared with people you don’t know or trust. So start operating under the assumption that anything you say online might be shared with everyone.

Be authentic, not transparent.

Facebook Shares Users Social Behavior

“People who are members of online social networks are not so much ‘networking’ as they are ‘broadcasting their lives to an outer tier of acquaintances who aren’t necessarily inside the Dunbar circle,’” Lee Rainie, the director of the Pew Internet & American Life Project, says.

I wonder if they’re drawing their own conclusions from incomplete data. How much of the lack of interaction on the site is due to the user base not knowing how to use Facebook’s features? How much of it is due to the interactions taking place offline? I’m guessing that Facebook is only a piece of the puzzle in these people’s lives (and I deeply hope so).