Citizens of the internet, this one is for you.

I recently got a facebook message from a friend asking me to remove a couple of pictures of her from my albums. She's not tagged and they're not particularly scandalous in any way, but she said it's not the image she wants to present. Removed, no problem. They were from a few years ago, so totally cool. Whatever.

It did get me thinking about the image I myself am building at present. Every time I pose for a photo I am fully aware that it may end up on the internet somewhere and anyone on earth, from my parents to my priest to my future grandkids, might see it. Everything I post to the internet or send out in emails has the full possibility of being read by anyone. I think as a citizen of the internet or whatever, we all need to be aware of this.

Of course there are things I write and pictures I take that I’d prefer certain people not see. I do dumb things, I drink too much and act silly, I get angry and rant. It happens. And even at my worst there is always a chance the world will find out, so I just have to make sure that I don’t do anything too horrid and if I do, no one is recording the moment. I have tons of images and thoughts recorded that if read by my boss at a staff meeting or my parents at a family dinner would probably make me really embarrassed, but that’s all. Nothing I should rightfully get disowned or fired over. As long as I stay on this side of the line, I think I’m fine.

All grown-ups should realize they have a responsibility to manage their own images. This isn’t something new, people have always gossiped. It’s just now that mistakes you make can have a much longer lasting and farther reaching impact.

It's been almost a year that this guy has sat by

A little dusty around here, but I'm going to try and come back.