[Publib] Facebook Folly

[Robert Balliot]

Martha, I am willing to share my photos from Facebook with this entire list.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=143407&id=532296109&l=fa31cc4840




On Thu, Aug 27, 2009 at 12:23 PM, Martha Grenzeback <
graymatters at windstream.net> wrote:

> I agree absolutely. But on the other hand, if I am going to be "graylisted"
> (I like that term!) out of a job, I'd prefer it to be for things I've said,
> written, or believed, or actions I've taken rather than for my naked photos
> on Facebook....I don't think there's anything wrong with living your life
> completely in public as long as you know you are doing it, and understand
> the implications. I don't think everyone on Facebook necessarily does.
>
> Martha Grenzeback
> graymatters at windstream.net
>
>
>
>
> At 11:02 AM 8/27/2009, backwage at aol.com wrote:
>
>  If you were to look (and it wouldn't take much of a look) you would find
> that I have posted material here and elsewhere concerning many personal
> matters, beliefs, et cetera.  A future employer or anybody else could
> discover that I suffer from depression, have left-wing sympathies, and have
> occasionally wished for the swift demise of enemies, such as those who clog
> up the pool lane ahead of me on my daily swim.  I know for a fact that I
> have been graylisted out of library jobs--which was painful, but which only
> sent me to higher-paid employment for people who can accept criticism and
> who, unlike chief librarians, do not suppress free speech.
>
> I would rather say what I wish than worry that somebody might be watching,
> waiting for a chance to record some misstep or take advantage of some detail
> of my life revealed.
>
> A chief librarian once told me, "If you write about libraries, you will be
> punished by them.  Librarians have long memories."  A sad but true
> commentary about our trade--the champion of civil liberties.  Librarians are
> in favor of free speech for everybody except their own employees, current or
> potential.  You won't get far in the business suggesting that librarians are
> the lowest paid of any intellectual workers in America.
>
> The death knell for my career was writing that minimum salary resolution
> for ALA Council.  Everybody liked the previous resolution about the Salinas
> libraries, but I got plenty of flak about the salary issue.  Plus, this put
> me in the category of "troublemaker" and made it so that I could be
> interviewed endlessly but never hired for library work.  As one librarian
> friend put it, "Nobody wants to hire the next union organizer."  An article
> about the starting salaries of the top public libraries was another nail in
> my professional coffin.
>
> Who did this?  Los Angeles Public; County of Los Angeles, and a half-dozen
> others, all allegedly searching desperately for librarians at the time.
> They sure did.  That is why they use the interview--so that they can grade
> you down without having to explain why, so that you can't make or improve
> your own score.  You just keep going, half a dozen or more times to
> interviews before the same set of stone faces, and get turned down every
> time.
>
> But I'm here, aren't I?  And still writing about the library.  Free speech
> is not free of consequences, but I am free of any consequences that any
> library might impose.  And so I will write about the library, which I own,
> and its employees, which I pay--happily, but not without an occasional
> suggestion.
>
> M. McGrorty
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Robert Balliot <rballiot at gmail.com>
> To: James Casey <jcasey at olpl.org>
> Cc: publib at webjunction.org <publib at webjunction.org>
> Sent: Thu, Aug 27, 2009 8:12 am
> Subject: Re: [Publib] Facebook Folly
>
>
> Naomi Wolf's book  'The End of America'  articulates ten steps that close
> an open society<http://www.endofamericamovie.com/10-steps-that-close-an-open-society>
> .
>
>
> *Number 4. surveil ordinary citizens*
>
> "People who believe they are being watched are less likely to voice
> opposition.  To scare a population
> into silence, the government need only monitor the activities of a few to
> make everyone fear that they
> are being surveilled.  Every closed society keeps a “list†of so-called
> opponents it tracks."* *
>
> The willingness to share information by 'youngsters' may be an indication
> that the fear factor
> we are asked to internalize by ALA Councilor James Casey will not scare the
> population into silence.
> It may be an indication of hope for a more democratic and open society in
> the future.
>
> I am not suggesting the ALA Councilor's message is not valuable within the
> context of securing
> a bureaucratic position. Jim Casey has certainly held on to his position
> for quite some time.
> However, muzzling free speech is not one of the internalized qualitie s
> that one would hope for in a profession that promotes the collection and
> distribution of
> diverse opinions and ideas.
>
> R. Balliot
> http://oceanstatelibrarian.com
>
>
>
>
> On Thu, Aug 27, 2009 at 9:25 AM, James Casey <jcasey at olpl.org> wrote:
>  Somewhere along the line the quest for privacy and fear of being snooped
> upon by corporate or governmental “big brothers†was jettisoned in favor
> of full disclosure (sometimes ad nauseam) of every waking thought, emotion
> and activity on Facebook.   The practical advice I try to give my grand
> nieces and young colleagues about the potential danger of “telling it all
> on the wall†– abouut boy friends, daily frustrations, crappy
> professors/employers, etc. – and the extensive use of profanity, are
> sometimes taken with a grain of salt.
> Such broadcasts to hundreds of “friends†will end up where and used in
> what way down the road when one of the youngsters applies for a responsible
> professional position 5 years from now or runs for Congress in 2024?
>
> I suggest that they exercise some discretion and consider (especially as
> they reach adulthood) that the “web presence†of anyone may well be
> “fair game†for those who wish to look into the background of candidates
> for this or that position.  As it is right now, I invariably do a Google
> search on candidates for professional positions to assess their use of the
> web.  A Facebook wall message could be seen by hundreds of “friends†–
> some of whomm might be potential supervisors, faculty colleagues, board
> members, political opponents, down the road.
>
> A little fear or anxiety about incessant broadcast messages might not be
> misplaced.
>
> Does anyone know of any program presenters who could give instruction and
> advice on the effective uses of Facebook?
>
> James B. Casey
> Director
> Oak Lawn Public Library
> ALA Council Member
>
>
>
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