I have joined the ranks

of those who feel slightly too old to be on Facebook but are anyway. I also have a Friendster account and one on Plaxo (which is more like an online address book). I think I may have registered on MySpace too, but if so, it was to peruse rather than use the site. I definitely don't have any content up there.

I know that employers often check these sites when interviewing job applicants. I know this because my current office did, and they found me, as well as other candidates they were considering. They even told me that they dinked a candidate because his MySpace/Facebook page undermined his credibility, and they couldn't take him seriously after seeing his pictures. Oops.

Even though I have these accounts, I don't actually maintain a huge online presence. This blog, which is hopefully googlenymous, and those sites, which can only be accessed by friends or those in my network. Of course, there is plenty out there about me from previous jobs -- public statements, accomplishments, etc. -- but nothing inappropriate or unprofessional. I make it a habit to google myself periodically to see what is out there. And if I ever decide to look for another job, I will definitely make sure that my networking pages are private. Not that there's anything embarassing on them -- because, like I said, I am just slightly (wink, wink) too old but way too uncool for it all.