Dear diary

Wednesday May 15, 2013

Dear minions,

It pains me to say, well really more annoys than pains, that today I can not tell you all the things I want to say. There are a myriad of topics that are just aching to be written about and yet I can not write about a single one. I can not even really tell you the topics and let you guess as to what my rants would be like.

If you my minions, and you oh great blogosphere were indeed  more a diary I could write to my little hearts content. I could tell you all the horribly frustrating events that have of late unfolded in different areas of my life and I would feel so much better. You would sympathize with me, and you would comment with anecdotes of your own to make me feel better, and you would voice your general rage on my behalf, and all would be good.

Sadly that is not the way the world works. The world we live and work in does not allow you to really say what it is you want to say. Well at least I can not say it until I become independently wealthy and don't have to worry about being fired for breaking my companies internet social media policy. Not that I am saying my rants have anything to do with work, I am just listing that as an example.

I can't ever say anything defaming about my job. Most of you don't even have any idea of what it is I do or where I work, and I am not just referring to my internet friends. People I see face to face on a weekly basis have no clue what it is I do or who it is I work for. Still I can not say anything about my job if I want to keep my job.

I also have to accept that I do not live or blog in a vacuum. There are other things and other people in my world that my words effect. I can not and will not stir the pot and make things potentially worse for those I care about no matter how much I feel the need to rail against the injustices that are being perpetrated upon them.

Anonymity and the internet do not exactly go hand in hand. Without that cloak to protect me, I can not ever completely say what it is that is on my mind. It seems like I will forever have to censor myself to avoid the consequences that lurk around the corner for me if I do not monitor my content.

Nothing we do online is safe or sacred. We have come to live in an age where employers think they have the right to look at our Facebook accounts in order to keep employment. If you had suggested a decade ago that your employers would be able to scrutinize your private social life like that in order to gain and maintain employment people would have been appalled that they would even consider it.

Now we are still appalled that they are considering it, but it is becoming more and more of a reality. The more we put ourselves out there, the more we can not avoid being scene. We have to think very hard about what it is we say and do in cyberspace, yet so many people fail to think about that.

I really feel bad for kids in high school and college who fill their Facebook and twitter feeds with ignorant foul language, inappropriate and incriminating images, and content that in retrospect may cost them a lot more than they think it will.

Telling the world about your less than scrupulous but perfectly age appropriate adventures seems like a great idea at the time.  That is what social media should be for. Sure you might be embarrassed when your grandmother stumbles across a picture of you letting frat guys do body shots off your stomach with that Mickey Mouse belly ring showing up clearly above the border of your oh so visible thong, but that just makes for an awkward Christmas dinner.

Reality is moving more and more toward that incriminating photo being thrown back into your face five years from now when you are standing, degree in hand, in front of a potential employer of a conservative company who doesn't feel you are the right fit any longer.

While my college partying days are well behind me (and no mom I  never had any photos or moments like the one described above) I still have to be careful and am so very aware of it. I know better that to point out the really bad aspects of work or personal life. I know to delete pictures that can be viewed in a less than favorable life. I know to keep the content of my blog neutral on certain topics and completely silent on others.

So that is where we sit oh minions of mine. It just proves we are all minions here; you to me, and me to the man. Take heed of my words and watch what it is you say. I am not saying it is right or I like it, I am just saying for now it is better to be safe than sorry.

Your fellow minion,

beylit