: Is social media engagement of a webmaster a good idea? I have been participating in some political discussions on youtube and google plus and as much as I try to refrain from it, some of

@Alves908

vDog, can I call you v for short? I feel like I could be giving advice to my nephew.

Anything you say publicly can effect your business and life. It is no different now than 20 years ago except that much of what you put out can hang around a very long time. There are three things you do not discuss, Politics, Religion, your own Personal Life. Period.

Yes. You are right about Google but Google is not who you should fear.

There are too many data mining companies out there that troll the Internet and tying bits and pieces together to create a highly detailed profile on anyone. It is worst than that, Your buying habits when you use a discount card, credit card, and bank card is tied to your profile. This include trips to the pharmacy. Web bugs follow you around the web. Now there are bugs that track your cell phone around the store and study your buying habits. So you pause in that video section that your wife/girlfriend hates, ooooppppssss... sorry. It's not a secret anymore. Left your cell phone in the car? No worries! They will just use the RFID sewn into your jacket, jeans, and shirt. That ointment that you bought at the pharmacy counter? They got that too. Do you prefer Trojans Max or something else? What underwear do you wear? What foods do you eat? Did you buy a bottle of wine or beer Friday with that box of condoms and tube of silk underwear, day old flowers and stale chocolates?

Not to scare you too much, but there are even companies that do incredible background checks on you without your permission and sell access to this data to potential employers. They have gone as far back as elementary school, interviewed people you went to school with, live in the same neighborhood with, gone to church with, partied with, and so on. They have your school transcripts and your performance reviews from work. They have interviewed coworkers, previous bosses, the references you provided, found a few more then a few more after that, checked your banking habits over your lifetime, know every place you lived, every car you own, and oh by the way, what you bought last Friday. Fortunately, these services are more expensive than most employers will pay unless you have a job where trust is a huge factor and the pay is good. Ooopppsss. That's the entire tech sector!

Okay that was fun!! But it was also true. Be careful. Now you know more than most about how all this cr@p is put together. I should know. I used to consult from time to time merging mined data together until I saw how out of control it was all getting. Stay moral my friend. Leave the interesting to the most interesting man in the world. That would not be me.

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