May 7, 2007
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HEY BOSS, ARE YOU READING THIS?
Perhaps you’ve heard the news story about Stacy Snyder, a Millersville University student who is being denied her teaching degree by the university because of a photo she posted on My Space. The photo is innocuous enough. It shows her wearing a pirate hat and taking a drink from a plastic cup. The caption she posted on the photo was “drunken pirate.”
Aaarrgggh matey! If she got in that much trouble for posting a picture of herself in a pirate hat, what kind of trouble could I get into for posting a photo-shopped picture of myself standing in the pulpit holding a giant dildo?
I’m probably screwed (no pun intended).
I have actually worried about my employer or my customers finding my website. I do most of my business with churches and in many cases any sense of humor they might have had was washed away during their baptism.
I’m stupid enough to use my actual name for Xanga which makes it that much easier for anyone googling my name to come across this site. As far as I know, only one customer has stumbled across my posts; and Lance if you’re reading this, when you first told me you found it I almost crapped my pants. Fortunately Lance’s sense of humor is as twisted as mine is so I lucked out.
By the way, if anyone in upper management at my company is reading this, I want you to know that you are the greatest employer in all of recorded history and I am humbled and honored to be working for you. I would also like for you to disregard that I am writing this on company time.
I would never purposely offend anyone. Ok, that’s not exactly true; there are many Republicans that I like to offend just for the hell of it, but I do know that many of my customers might find some of my posts offensive, so the story I mentioned above kind of concerns me.
Do you ever worry about what you write on Xanga?
Comments (36)
ha! If you go private….can I be on the list?
t
hah, no. because i dont use my real name–and the people who know my “code name” wouldnt be offended by the things i write.
however, if you want to write more personal stuff, you should consider either going private or being a bit more secretive about the whole name-thing.
but dont go too private cuz then random ppl like me wont be able to read your posts! lol
Screw ‘em if they can’t take a joke….
Yup! I censor myself to an extreme degree. I don’t hide my blog, and I have relatives as well as co-workers who read it. Every once in awhile I go private to get out anything that is really gnawing at me that I dont’ want known locally.
Are you sure you didn’t _actually_ crap your pants, because the rest of that evening there was this disturbing stench about the room. I initially blamed it on the infant at the table behind me, but when it remained after they left, I became quite concerned for your health.
I don’t worry about people finding my xanga, mainly because if they can’t take my opinion or my comments for what they are thenthey shouldn’t be reading it anyways. I tend to piss off a lot of people with a good many of my posts. I usually piss of more christians than anything else. But I believe everyone is entitled to their opnion and if it pisses someone else off then that person really needs to look at why it pissed them off so much. I don’thave to worry with people from work reading my stuff, cuz i am a homemaker. However I do worry on occassion of the father of my children reading it and gettin the stupid idea of trying to use it against me in court, but there is that whole thing of freedom of religion so I should be alright if anything was to ever happen in that area.
But see if we all stop writing what we are thinking because of being worried who will read it then we would all be fucked and the whole freedomof speech thing wouldn’t be what it is. even though now days the whole freedom of speech is losing its true meaning with censorship and all.
However have a good day and keep on writing.
Nieza
Haha I do worry about this and that is why i have a xanga lock on mine. The people I’m worried about reading my xanga are far too lazy to actaully create an account just to read the random crap I put up. ^_^
I worry some of the time – but then I think ‘stuff em’ – this is my site. My family has access and reads occasionally – but then I do censor what I write.
I got burned BIG TIME doing that and lost very good friends in the process. They googled my name and found my blogs. One of them was about them and was not especially complimentary. I meant it as more of a satire than a direct dis, but they took it as a dis. It exploded and many feelings were hurt. We all made nice again, but it was never the same between us. I now have turned off my RSS feed so that the general public cannot access my site unless they are a Xanga member. Its a flimsy cover, but it filters out the curious surfers.
sometimes I worry, because I work for a church. But now I am Blogger as well and all of the Western PA Methodist pastors read my blog all the time. I think I’m more careful about what I put over there than I am here. It’s sad, isn’t it?
Only because my kids and grandkids read it. Wouldn’t want to tarnish their impression of their Mom and Mimi, now would I?
Yes. I do worry about what you write on xanga.
That’s why you will never see my real name, or my photo on Xanga. A few friends know me. That’s it. I also post family photos protected. You never know where the crazies are.
I’m more worried about the fitting a broken arrow into the Google logo.
Hell, I sent a link out to all my friends, relatives and ex coworkers. They take one look at my site and never come back.
I sometimes worry about what people will find my site but I don’t really care. I don’t put THEIR names on my site. I have often thought about shutting down my site but I don’t want to lose what all I have on there already. The bad thing is that my site is the same name as our business is so I am wondering if people would be googling the business name and come across my Xanga post. YIKES. Yep, I probably should do something huh? lol Is there a limit on how many people you can have on friends lock?
Yes, and that’s why most work posts are only up for a few days. It’s also why I’ve made use of most of the Xanga blocks offered (and shut down my website and profile on AOL). Googling my Xanga name brought up my AOL name and vice versa and that made me verrrry uncomfortable.
If I want to write that it drives me nuts when a co-worker coughs and doesn’t cover her mouth, and makes me want to slap the snot out of her, I’m merely venting. I have no desire to end up in a heated etiquette discussion with repercussions that could affect my employment. And like you, for the most part I would not want to cause hurt feelings (except in a few well-deserved cases).
It becomes self-censorship; I can’t vent when my children piss me off, because they read my site. Yet those are often the times I could use the release most. I can’t post about a certain situation in my life because… that person reads my site. And yes, I could post privately about those subjects, but it’s just not as satisfying, comment whore that I am.
I’m sure there’s a happy medium out there somewhere (complete with crystal ball), but I just haven’t found it yet.
I used to worry about it when I first started but now I just don’t care. I don’t post anything that isn’t true – and if someone stumbles across an opinion that I have expressed, well, it is just that – an opinion. If I have to lock it down and make it private and only a hand full of people have access, then I might as well lock the doors and shut it down because that is no fun…….
It would be So easy to find me, I just think , HAVE FUN HERE UNTIL YOU GET BUSTED.
i never used to worry. until a *certain someone* informed me via email on my blog that they’d been reading up on my xanga. and felt the need to point out what a spiteful, selfish b*tch i am to post so openly about my father, especially since he is “no saint” (her words, not mine). she posted this crap to me before my father was even one week dead and in the ground.
i came *this close* to blocking her. and then decided: WTF. why should i censor my thoughts / feelings out of fear that she may read it? it’s *my* xanga, not her’s.
I require people who read my Xanga to login so I can monitor the footprints. Keeps me from being paranoid. The Myspace is a totally different ball of wax. I used my real email address with that and actually changed my profile when I was job searching so I could look happy and well adjusted should anybody come a snooping. Hmmm, maybe I should go stalk my co-workers!
nah, my blogs never get that interesting.
I had to invent an alter ego, QueenCrab, to let myself loose on xanga. It took up too much time managing two sites so I let the Queen ride off into the sunset with her stiletto heels and her camel toe jeans. Now I alternate between my bawdy jokes and my Bible references:) Nobody said religion has to be somber and stoic.
I used to worry about the internet getting me in to trouble, back in high school when my parents checked my online history. As my father is the single most terrifying force in my life, and as he no longer has access to my computer, I feel much more secure posting whatever the hell I want. I will probably have to delete my Facebook account when I get a “real job,” because I hear employers check those things now.
lol…I bet more people than you know have read your blog since you do use your real name…
I try to be careful with some things that I put on mine only because I know of a few non xangan’s/family/aquaintances who read it…sometimes, I wish they didn’t have my site…
I wonder about my bosses reading my blog too. That’s why I insist on pretending I work for the other hospital in town when I mention things about my patients…
Even though my blogs are pretty boring I still don’t use names. I guess I’m overly cautious. I think the teacher incident you mentioned was pretty ridiculous and it would be equally ridiculous if you lost business or got fired for your site. Like Laura said, have fun til you get busted!
Nope. That’s why I don’t use my name and almost never write directly about my job or my workplace. I don’t know that I would get in trouble, but I’m a big believer in not sh***ing where I eat.
Yes, I worry about my neighbor reading about himself on my xanga spot, but then I only speak the truth in love so I should be ok, you think?
I’m paranoid enough to protect posts that could potentially be seen by people who could potentially be offended. I’m a weinee like that.
Keep thinking about what you said, and seems to me… the only real important One not to offend is the Creator. However, He does have quite a sense of humor, I have found….. and He looks on the heart, but then He does say that out of the mouth, the heart speaks…. well, then there are those people, who belong to Him!!! Oh Gosh, isn’t it grand?
He did a good job on you…. gave you good gifts… gave you a position… gave you an audience… and gave you a good wife too! Yes, you are blessed and I like you too. 
Nope I don’t worry about it, that is the nice thing about being SELF EMPLOYED, I don’t have anyone to answer to but myself. Frankly, I don’t know if anyone in my family other than my kids and husband reads my site, I have not had them talk to me about it, but frankly, what I write in my site is normally what I would say in person so it would not be any great surprise to anyone.
The only concerns I have had have been from strangers who have left ugly comments from time to time, but the delete and block features are most comforting. In one instance I had to delete and block one person 5 times because she kept opening new sites just so she could leave racist comments on my site, I turned her in to Xanga and have not had to bother with her again, poor sad creature….although I would have loved to have seen what she thought of my series of Malllard Fillmore comics re Al Sharpton, given that she was a great admirer of his….LOL
I keep everything around a PG13 rating. I might share some personal stuff but I kind of feel this journaling business is cathartic, so I forge ahead. I have a myspace too, but I keep that blog stuff strictly for music related items.
RYC: So you ADMIT she’s adorable!?! It’s the truth, I know, but it’s hard for some people to just admit it. Joel thinks E should come with a warning that says “Your baby probably won’t turn out this cute”.
Oh, and as to your blog, What does Mike think about the giant toy you routinely (from blog evidence, anyway) wave around the pulpit? Maybe it’s a good think people in 1st service have failing eyesight…
Ok, now that I’ve once again pulled myself together and am down to just giggles, in a word, yes. Since only my”girls” know of another site I started, I have felt pretty darn secure about venting to my “girls” and they venting back. Whoo, gets pretty breezy sometimes. Today my hubby said some things that lead me to believe that he is either physic or has stumbled across the sight. Ooooopps… :-O Until now, I had never worried about anyone reading my sites. I, of course, used my real name.
And honey, if you’re reading this…this isn’t my boyfriend, k? I was only joking! And Mark…that was a joke, k?
I worried about it a long time ago. But I have too much dirt on everyone I know at the office…so if somebody wants to take me down to HR I’ll welcome the company.