Hello #1s,
I was just asking Robin about this and he suggested it might be a blog post topic.
I am feeling a little uneasy about the fact that this is a public blog, and that (in the one assignment thus far) we are asked to discuss science in personal areas of our lives. I have pictures of future insurance companies, employers, etc. possibly googling one of our fine group members and reading a post and saying, "Hmm..this person appears to have a pre-exisitng condition/family/health issue that makes me not want to work with them." or any number of scenarios. I for example wrote about a past job in which I worked with students--what if one of them decides to see what I'm up to and reads my thoughts on their classroom. Does this breach professional boundaries? Does it create potentially "bad" situations. What would I have blogged when I was 21 and would I want my future employers to have access to it today? And, as a small business owner, would I want my clients, who I work with on a one-to-one basis, to read my opinion or analysis of mental disorders--without having any context of the large class--and then extend those opinions in their to what I might be thinking of their personal circumstance.
What is the value of having the blog public versus just within the discussion group? What will create the best/better discussion & exploration.
I'd love to hear your thoughts.
--julie
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I would like this a private blog, and only people from our whole class being able to read our posts. Good post.
ReplyDeleteI don't have a personal preference, but I think you bring up a good point. Regardless of whether we keep this blog public or make it private, I think it's an issue that students should keep in mind with everything that they post on the internet.
ReplyDeleteMaking this more private might be good, just so that the people involved in the class do not have to worry extensively about discretion.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry, but this is the second decade of the twenty-first century - I can have more private information about any of you for $40 than you could ever believe. Your parents and, to some extent, you, sacrificed and volunteered your privacy to the great big net in the sky, years ago. I wonder, have any of you ever read the entire body of any of the "terms of service" you have simply checked "yes" for? My rule is never to say or write anything, anywhere, that I wouldn't want to see in the morning newspaper. But can we express ourselves freely without endangering future relationships, contracts, etc.?
ReplyDeletePeople, we have NO privacy now, and we haven't for many years. Your personal information is readily accessible to thousands of people whom you will never meet - some of them are honestly just doing their jobs and will never think twice about creating a ghost account in your name in North Dakota, but SOME will certainly try to do this, and SOME will certainly succeed. My question is this, knowing that I could have your SSAN, Driver's License number, every address you have ever lived at, every phone number you have ever had, every loan application you've ever completed, bankruptcy filings, divorce proceedings, criminal history - for little more than a bottle of good (no, not even good, just decent) scotch costs, why would you worry about a little thing like some U of M blog that will never be looked at by anyone except the occasionally misdirected web surfer,. Come on. Let's get over this and move on. My $0.02
The extra layer of privacy, however sheer, is always strangely comforting. I wouldn't be opposed to a private blog.
ReplyDeleteI know people can FIND my identity if they are trying really hard to steal it etc., but I just meant more of someone coming across it accidentally. I do think it is worth considering the value of who is included in this *particular* converstation, within a class within a small department in a university. I am fully aware that there are smarty pants internet hackers lurking and that facebook knows my whole life story.
ReplyDeleteOh I wasn't done. I wouldn't be writing about these things in a public forum, necessarily, if I weren't in this class, as I do realize it is the second decade of two-thousands. HOWEVER I think people sharing these stories IS beneficial to the class discussion.....But maybe Cyclops is right and the insurance companies would still dig something up. They're kinda like that.
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