...Friendfeed being the prime example... (I should point out that I'm on a panel about this very topic this week, so I may bring up your thoughts during it...won't mention you by name though! :) ) - Zee.

Presently looking for work and constantly having to carefully choose my wording as to not disparage old employers and screwing myself out of new Jobs. - Brent - Yes I am

I think about this all the time - certainly an issue amongst within IP law (among many other areas). I've had my stuff used in ways I never thought of... thank God I didn't say anything too outrageous! - Gunther Sonnenfeld

Ok, I admit to being slightly worried, in case I get involved in politics. But whatever, I'll have an open philosophy regardless. And if businesses facilitate conversation, they can use what goes across their wires. Glass houses and all... - Christopher Galtenberg

In many ways, its not new. Just because it's digital doesn't mean you shouldn't be aware of what you say or how you behave. Granted, social networking makes things easier to find. - Mark Philpot

I do not hold with companies using my content in their work, be it in an article or an example on their site or brochures, unless they've contacted me and asked permission. As for my "digital footprint" concerns, I've been online for over 20 years. I stopped worrying about that long ago. - Anika

Good question. All my LANjackal profiles are disconnected from my professional identity (no links or mentions from one to the other) for that very reason - LANjackal

but Anika, when Friendfeed uses your review of a particular application in the Apps room - and (in time) places advertising in there. Is joining Friendfeed and commenting enough permission? (I should note, i haven't looked into Friendfeed terms & conditions yet...which probably reference this) - Zee.

I don't swear and I don't get drunk. It's that simple, Zee. :) Just behave yourselves. - Louis Gray

The only thing that concerns me about my online content is posting something I wouldn't want my kids to see, which will probably never happen. I couldn't care less about future employers. If they don't hire me because of something I said online or because I posted a shirtless pic on FF, I probably wouldn't have enjoyed the job anyway. - Rahsheen?

Louis is the smartest guy on FF!! :) wise advise for sure! - Susan Beebe from BuddyFeed

swearing is fucking bad. - Tyler Gillies from email

Getting less scared about what I say online, don't mind to mention my name, but at the same time I'm being more careful too. It might be my age (& that I'm not as hyperactive as I used to be). ;-) - Ton Zijp

What about the literal footprint- the acids and chemicals that are used to make every new gadget, leeches into the soil, fills dumps in Vietnam that kids wade through... etc. - anna sauce

I'm just paranoid about the Internet to begin with, then add the whole digital footprint thingy ... - Brent - Yes I am

Ton, I see nothing wrong in being careful. - Brent - Yes I am

not so worried about myself... more worried about my children and figuring out how to teach them to be politic on-line when they don't want me looking over their shoulders. - Peggy Dolane

I'm old and don't care anymore - Robert Hafer

I know very little about my grandparents. My mother passed away several years ago and my father doesn't like to talk much. I would like nothing more than be able to search the archives of my relatives digital footprints to see how they lived, loved, and laughed. I hope to provide that to my grandchildren and I have no fear of them seeing the good, the bad, and the ugly because it will be the real me, not some pristine filtered phony representation of me. And as for future employers...I let my track record and references speak for themselves. No need to go beyond LInkedIn and a few interviews to see if I'm the right person for said company. - Mark Krynsky

wow mark that is very deep. thank you - Tyler Gillies from email

Me neither, Brent, but sometimes you just don't know what careful is. Tourists here in Amsterdam think they can ride a bike instantly & don't see any danger, untill they meet a tram that can't stop for them. In that way I'm talking about my behaviour of getting more careful. - Ton Zijp

There are a few things in the past that I regret posting, but once they go on the Net... Lately, I've been a little cautious in what I put up. - Arlan K.

Having seen some of the comments and pictures that get posted to my friends' Facebook and Twitter streams, I've become very wary of making drunken tweets and/or wall-posts. If you say or do something embarrassing while you're drunk, it soon gets forgotten; but what you post to a social network, tends to live on. - Andrew Terry

I've been hesitant to post anything about one of my former employers even though I very much want to talk about it. But the employer would be immediately recognized by every most everyone in the U.S. and I've worried that anything I would post about them would come back to haunt me. I don't think I would mind businesses using my conversations. Don't swear & rarely even drink anything so I don't have to worry about that! - Jannifer @wordsforliving

I hear you Jannifer. Frustrating isn't it? - Brent - Yes I am

I agree that if you're being an arse online it gives the impression that you're an arse in real life too. That much is fine, but if a potential employer takes exception at things such as your views on a specific subject (provided they're not of the ignorant and bigoted type) then you're better off not working for them and they have done a favour to you by showing their true colours. A company does not own you and should not dictate what you are allowed to say in general. When it comes to specific things such as them as a company or things you did in a competing company then a bit of candor is better. - alphaxion

We're all different people in different circumstances and there's nothing wrong with that. For example, I don't talk to my kids the way I talk to my friends, the way I talk to my co-workers, etc. The problem with the Internet is that it doesn't allow us that parting of our roles, so to speak. So we must adopt a generic self and water down our different parts, or else live with the consequences of exposing private aspects of ourselves to public scrutiny. It's a shame, I think. - Dawn

Since I have already not been hired for a job because of my blog, I am pretty much so to the point where it is all water under the bridge. How a potential employer handles what I have to say is more important. If they wont hire me, odds are highly likely the job would have been a bad fit to begin with. My 2 cents, been there, seen it, still got the best job in the world. - Dan owns Comicsforge.com

"When you swear outrageously or tweet drunk" - what Nicholas James said. - John Craft

To an extent I'm concerned, using this http://www.123people.co.uk/ gave me a good idea of what is out there of me on the net and gave me a little fright. But I think by and large we are in control of what goes online about us, so it's up to us to manage. - Yant

You're always in the global village on the Web. Make sure that you don't find yourself doing nutty things on the street. Your mileage may vary, of course. - John Blossom

Be sure to keep your personal safety in mind when Tweeting. You can give out too much information about your location for instance. See this revealing post: http://news.cnet.com/8301-10... (Twitter user says vacation Tweets led to burglary) - Peggy Dolane

Seems like an appropriate posts for Jauder Ho/ Leather donut - Mrsth

I take Louis Gray's approach, always doing my best to say what I mean clearly so it is not misinterpreted to mean something worse. - Rishabh Mishra (p248)

I began my life online with a pseudonym to help separate it from my real identity. The main purpose was to preserve an independent voice without my current employer being affected by my opinions. However, over recent months, I've decided to intertwine the identities. It comes down to authenticity with me. I don't swear or get drunk either so whether online or in person what you see is what you get. - Keith - @tsudo