Poet Ponders the Digital

Visalia Direct: Virtual Valley October 2009 Issue August 26, 2009 Facebook Fling and Twitter Toss: The Risks of Social Computing to Your Computer There was a time the greatest risk to a laptop at a coffee shop was the menu. Everyone knows that coffee and keyboards do not mix. Only a few short years ago, you took a computer to a coffee shop, bookstore, or all-night diner to work. The laptop was for business or school and your greatest worry was locating a free power outlet. Other than the iced mochas I love, tripping on the power cord was the only serious risk to my laptop. Along came wireless networks and the “Social Web” of Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter. Now, the greatest risk to laptops seems to be rage. According to an August report on CNet, a technology news Web site, computer technicians suddenly find they have to explain to laptop users that warranties don’t cover damage caused by computing while angry. Techs have started to refer to the incidents by a series of hum

Visalia Direct: Virtual Valley September 2009 Issue July 27, 2009 Facebook, YouTube and… You, Unemployed For the past few years, I have told my students to consider carefully what they post online. Like many educators and parents, I want my students to think about their online reputations. But, the rules are changing and we’re losing some control over our online selves. What others reveal about you is as important as anything you might post online. “Most of what I worry about, the job applicant didn’t actually post.” As a human resource specialist for a large, national service company, the woman I was talking to hires young men and women who enter the businesses and private homes of customers. These employees represent their employer and its tech-savvy image. Because I teach a professional development course for university juniors and seniors, I thought my warnings not to put too much personal information online was sufficient. I had overlooked that friends, those fun peopl