How To Click And Clean

Name: Gable Heng (24)

Class: 3E

Article Title: How To Click And Clean, pg72-77

Written by: Andy Simmons

Summary:
This article is about how the Internet is being used by companies to conduct background checks 0n a prospective employee in order to see whether or not that person is fit for the job.And as a result, some companies who base the people that qualify for their job on what they post on the Internet have actually cancelled a few job applications due to the fact that they did not like what the applicant posted online.As a result, these applicants are obliged to take down whatever was found to be offensive to the company's management before applying for another job.However, due to the fact that most information found on the Internet can be freely reproduced,other users can take the offending material and spread it throughout the web,making it virtually impossible for the applicant to get rid of the material. Resulting in a business opportunity for companies who deal in privacy cases such as ReputationDefender and Defendmyname.com and even turning it into an industry-Identity Management, which basically helps people to remove offensive pieces of information from the Internet through various novel and time-tested tactics for a price.However, as this article implies, not all articles are offensive and some may actually be used to the applicant's advantage if it is what their employers are looking for, provided the applicant takes certain precautionary measures such as the ones listed in the article.

Reflection:

From the way i look at it, i think that is in incredibly ironic that some of the people who are complaining about the lack of privacy are the same people who would freely supply a complete stranger who more often than not, would live in an entirely different country with information that can not only be used for what its original author intended through various websites such as facebook,blogspot etc., but also for other purposes such as the collection of personal information by a prospective employer.Resulting in a serious lapse in the safeguarding of personal privacy considering that a prospective employer would almost certainly not be a part of that author's intended audience and the information collected can be crucial in deciding whether or not to hire the author.In fact, not only has it made websites that allow you to view the personal information of other's part of the advertisement industry, but has also formed a totally new industry with its own niche in the privacy industry-Identity Management.One that protects your personal information from being spread all over the Internet through various methods ranging from the old fashioned way of asking the site administrators politely to take it down to the time-tested methods of bringing the site administrator to court and boycotting the website by removing its advertisers.It is strange though, that people would pay a good amount of money just to clean up a mess that they could have avoided in the first place while simultaneously lambasting others who intrude into their privacy by reading their personal mail or physical diaries.However, i do not think that it is entirely their fault as even though almost every child has been taught to never trust a stranger, some believe that on the Internet, they are safe as they are hiding behind an i.p. address and in most cases, a firewall, lulling them into a false sense of security which allows them to post whatever they want freely on the Internet without fear of any repercussions whatsoever.

However, i do not condemn such sites as the Internet is about free expression of views and users should be allowed to write whatever they like provided that others do not find it offensive.I do, however, advocate making public some form of contact such as an email address so that other users of the Internet can contact that person in the event that they require their assistance.

End Reflection----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

P.S This was written by Gable Heng and not Joshua regardless of what this site says as i could not find a single email address used by the owner of this blog to email to, requesting that i be allowed to post on this website with my usual email address.