Delete Your MySpace Page
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Should law students delete their MySpace.com page? Like any good law student would say: “It depends.”
If you have a MySpace page, there are some very important questions you should consider to protect your career and privacy.
Employers May See Your MySpace Page. More and more employers are doing internet searches or hiring search firms to do background checks on employees. This probably includes law firms.
MySpace Pages May Be Embarrassing. I’ve seen law students with MySpace.com pages showing drunk pictures or sexually suggestive photos. These student may not realize that by listing their law school, using their full name, or using their e-mail address, anyone can search MySpace and find their page.
Your MySpace Page May Be Archived. The fact that the web page is archived on the WayBackMachine for all eternity means that deleting the MySpace page may not delete all copies of it. The WayBackMachine seeks to make copies of all web pages so people can see what was posted on a web page at a certain point in time. Fortunately, the WayBackMachine does not archive MySpace. But other services, such as Google’s cache, may maintain a copy of your MySpace page even after you change the content.
Because of the importance of reputation in the legal field, law students must be especially careful. Normally information posted on a MySpace page is personal, and not intended for a professional audience. If this includes you, here are a few suggestions.
Action Steps:
If you must have a MySpace page, then do this:
- Delete your current MySpace page
- Open a new MySpace account under a new e-mail address that you use only for MySpace, so that no one can use your current e-mail address to look you up.
- Do not put your full name on your MySpace page.
- Do not put on your MySpace page what schools you have attended.
- Do not put on your MySpace page any photos or words you wouldn’t want an employer to see.
You could also consider setting your MySpace page to “private.”
Conclusion. Many students don’t realize their MySpace page could come back to haunt them. It may be unfortunate, but this is the reality in our new Internet era. If your MySpace page has photos or comments you wouldn’t want a potential employer or potential client to see, take the action listed above.
This is part of a series of articles highlighting Web 2.0 websites for law students.
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August 6th, 2006 at 1:45 am
[…] The recent article, Delete Your MySpace Page, left out an important option: You can set your MySpace page to “private” so only those you approve can read the contents of your page. This seems like a great way that you can keep your MySpace page and stay in touch with friends, while preventing your MySpace page from being seen by potential employers, clients, or the general public. Related Articles: […]
September 5th, 2006 at 7:06 pm
how can i delete myspace
September 17th, 2006 at 8:00 am
The article details why you shouldn’t have information that represents you badly on MySpace, fair enough. The call to “delete your .. page” seems like a fairly unsubtle and biased message of “don’t use MySpace”. There’s no need to delete your MySpace page if you use it responsibly.
September 17th, 2006 at 8:11 am
Or you can simply set your profile to private and you don’t have to worry about it.
September 17th, 2006 at 8:11 am
Do not post your springbreak pics to your MySpace page!…
I just discovered through digg a - quite old - post about MySpace implications in an eventual job search process. That’s absolutely true in my opinion.
I’m not saying MySpace is evil, but if you love social networking maybe you would like t…
September 17th, 2006 at 8:11 am
@ Paul Maddox - That’s assuming your ‘friends’ use theirs responsibly. Guilt by association and all that malarky. If you have a ‘friend’ who likes to display their appendage for the world to see, i can only imagine what people would think of ‘you’ as well as them.
September 17th, 2006 at 8:31 am
You can’t stop yourself adding photos of you, can you? Nonsense everywhere!
September 17th, 2006 at 8:33 am
I agree with your article. I am still trying to find a way that Myspace is not a negative in the business world.
September 17th, 2006 at 8:37 am
Interestingly though, a blog or website etc could be geared to impress a potential employer. For example, having a set of mature comments on a particular law case (or whatever) could secure a job position.
September 17th, 2006 at 9:21 pm
MySpace is just another method of publishing, like a blog, or your school’s law review. There’s nothing special or mysterious or even particularly relevant to law students about this. Everyone: Don’t post anything on MySpace you wouldn’t publish. Very simple.
September 18th, 2006 at 3:29 am
Why law students should delete their Myspace Pages (or atleast make them private)…
Delete Your MySpace Page
Posted August 3, 2006
on http://www.toplawstudent.com/
Should law students……
September 18th, 2006 at 4:36 am
In my opinion you’re going the wrong way with this. By all means, keep your existing myspace profile and mention your school and workplace as much as you’d like.
Just don’t post drunken pics, sexually explicit content or idiotic ramblings under your profile. If people behaved on myspace like they did in real life, this wouldn’t be a problem. I don’t plaster my drunken pics on myspace, on the wall of my building, in the local newspaper or any other public place. That’s not a hard concept to grasp, is it?
September 18th, 2006 at 9:41 am
[…] read more | digg story […]
September 18th, 2006 at 9:55 am
I agree with this article 100%. I had a Myspace page only because I had fallen into the “everyone is doing it” crowd. I know at least three people who have broken up because of there Myspace page. Not because they were cheating or anything, it was because they weren’t in each other’s top 8. How insane is that?
September 18th, 2006 at 10:49 am
[…] Can’t land that dream job? Google may be the culprit MySpace skeletonsread more | digg story Related Posts New in Gmail: Delete All SpamMySpace driving more retail traffic than MSN searchMyspace closes giant security holeApple creates iTunes free TV Show pageHacked Ad Seen on MySpace Served Spyware to a Million « iPod fans ’shunning iTunes store’ […]
September 20th, 2006 at 3:00 pm
[…] Delete Your MySpace Page Or you might be pwnt during your next job hunt. (tags: myspace privacy) […]
September 21st, 2006 at 11:24 pm
[…] Recently we discussed the reasons for law students to Delete Your MySpace Page if it contains content not intended for a professional community of attorneys and potential clients. Then we mentioned an alternative: You could Set Your MySpace Page to ‘Private’ […]
October 4th, 2006 at 6:58 am
[…] Here are a few simple reasons why you should reconsider having a MySpace page. Although geared towards young professionals, the tips apply to anyone who might apply for a new job in the future.read more | digg story […]