Umpire-Empire and Social Media, for umpires - please read

[Umpire in Chief]

I wrote this article a while back and wanted to get people to take a look at it again.

http://umpire-empire.com/index.php/page/index.html/_/misc/umpiring-and-social-networking-r12

[cyclonehokiece]

Good advice in general.

[sdix00]

Definitely good advice, however let me say something on anonymity. Although the internet started out as a wild west of anonymous BBS, chatrooms, and overseas hosting, one of the major shifts in the last four years has been accountability on the internet. This is primarily visible in the comment threads on major blogs and news sites and is due to the comment software closely integrating with Facebook in order to publicly identify commenters. I believe this shift has greatly reduced the amount of flaming, and other inflammatory language.

I think it is important to own what you say. Right now, we are in a transition period where folks speak like they are still anonymous but haven't yet realized that this is a new world and regardless of how anonymous your screen name is, there are a lot of other metrics that can be used to identify you. Especially as you establish an online identity and post more and more on the web, your grammar, language, syntax, vocabulary, spelling, meter, and phrasing can all be represented in the form of a heatmap, cloud or fingerprint that is usually enough to uniquely identify you.

This concept has already been applied in the online poker space (although the metrics were different) and the concept proved effective in 2007 when the metrics were used to identify cheaters (even though they changed their screen names with ease several times) and brought down AbsolutePoker and began the decline of online poker in general.

The point is, you can't hide from your own data. The days of saying one thing and doing another are numbered.

So while picking anonymous screen names is important during this transition period, it is important to understand that there will be a time when everyone will need to take responsibility for their words and actions online, forever. Tell yourself now, that your mother, your boss, your kids, your god (whatever works) are reading what you say. This lack of anonymity will force a change where we must be honest with ourselves about who we are, make peace with it, and own it forever. Even if we evolve for the better from age 8 to 98, that evolution will be documented.

[mstaylor]

For some reason the article didn't come up but I have good idea what it says. I have posted under two monikers in my entire time on the internet, umpmst and mstaylor. With about two seconds of looking you can find out where I live and my cell number. I have never really tried to hide.

What amazes me are the supposed tech savvy kids that post just about anything and are surprised when everybody knows their business. I constantly impress my younger son when I know more about the inner workings than he does.

[SanDiegoSteve]

Most companies check Facebook and Twitter accounts when screening job applicants. Only 7% of employers don't. Be careful who you add as a friend or have as a follower. I make sure I block followers of ill repute, as I don't need a worse rep than I already have :)

[dumbdumb]

"What you write can come back to bite you professionally as well. While hopefully this would not apply to anything you write about umpiring it is becoming more and more common for potential employers to look at your online profile. There have been numerous articles written about employers not hiring a certain person based on information they found about them on social networking sites.

By no means am I saying don't share your passion for umpiring here or elsewhere."

Actually sounds like the absolute best thing to do is stay off the internet period, unless you are reading things or place an order for something, except to email.

[johnnyg08]

Personally, I want to be held accountable for what I say...BUT there are some places on the web that I would like the option to be anonymous.

I work in the public sector and it makes it tough to have good online discussion with folks about controversial issues like gay marriage, abortion, religion, who's fault is it Bush or Obama, etc...I like to have discussions (good, formal discussion, not racist, bigoted name-calling) yet I don't need my customers and co-workers knowing where I stand on an issue.

I think if everything is public, that is also a form of censorship because there are lots of people who refrain from posting online due to the fact that they can't be anonymous and the discussion, which for me is good for my spirit, I don't care if I win or not, I enjoy talking online w/ people who have different beliefs from my own and have good, intelligent discussion. I'm not going to talk religion and politics w/ my friends and family b/c that's just a "no-no"

I think it's easy to say "if you have something to say, sign your name" and I agree if it's accusatory or inflammatory, but there should be some anonymity as well...just for the sake of discussions.

[mstaylor]

I have a similar problem. I work the local county govt.In that job I have to run sound for the budget hearings. I hear people speak at these hearings that I know are completely wrong or simply misinformed but as an employee I can't dispute them. This extends into social media and newspaper editorials. At the last one the local TV stations ask me about a couple of things and I told him straight up how I felt. He asked if I would say it on camera? I told him no way in hell could I do that as an employee. There need to be some places where guys like Johnny and I can can post anonymously.

[sdix00]

Personally, I want to be held accountable for what I say...BUT there are some places on the web that I would like the option to be anonymous.

I work in the public sector and it makes it tough to have good online discussion with folks about controversial issues like gay marriage, abortion, religion, who's fault is it Bush or Obama, etc...I like to have discussions (good, formal discussion, not racist, bigoted name-calling) yet I don't need my customers and co-workers knowing where I stand on an issue.

I think if everything is public, that is also a form of censorship because there are lots of people who refrain from posting online due to the fact that they can't be anonymous and the discussion, which for me is good for my spirit, I don't care if I win or not, I enjoy talking online w/ people who have different beliefs from my own and have good, intelligent discussion. I'm not going to talk religion and politics w/ my friends and family b/c that's just a "no-no"

I think it's easy to say "if you have something to say, sign your name" and I agree if it's accusatory or inflammatory, but there should be some anonymity as well...just for the sake of discussions.

This is a great point and I took it for granted that I work in an environment that encourages discussion and free flowing ideas. My online identity has probably disqualified me from a Job such as Johnny's or MST's.

It's like being a politician. You basically have to sell your soul and have no identity in order to get elected.

So we have politicians on one end of the spectrum who are public figures but have zero identity, and we have the relatively insignificant grunts on the other side who are free to be who they are publicly without much consequence. We all fall somewhere in between and the rules are different depending on where you find yourself on that spectrum.

[BT_Blue]

There was a huge controversy a couple months ago about companies demanding names and passwords for peoples private Facebook pages especially for prospective new hires. Though I do not have anything to hide, I do not think I could give someone that information. I would be to worried about what they think they could find.

[dumbdumb]

There was a huge controversy a couple months ago about companies demanding names and passwords for peoples private Facebook pages especially for prospective new hires. Though I do not have anything to hide, I do not think I could give someone that information. I would be to worried about what they think they could find.

How could companies word the question so that you would have to give up your identity on this forum. Could they do that, in addition to asking your facebook and twitter passwords, where you would have to make a decision to do it or face the consequences or not tell the truth.

Also, that kid who was just tackled by Kellogg. How many employers would hire him after googling his name right now. Let's let some of those who know about this area speak.

Maybe we should just read the internet and nothing else. Sounds like that is what it is coming too.

[yawetag]

Also, that kid who was just tackled by Kellogg. How many employers would hire him after googling his name right now. Let's let some of those who know about this area speak.

I check online media of all applicants we're going to make an offer to; we call it "socal surveillance." This is after all pre-employment checks and interviews have been completed. We haven't found anything that prevented us from hiring someone.

Would I hire the kid that streaked across the field? If he's made it through our interview process, most likely.

[MidAmUmp]

This is a topic I'm researching right now. I plan on discussing this during our Thursday night optional session at the Mid-American Umpire Clinic in September.

[24sdad]

This is a topic I'm researching right now. I plan on discussing this during our Thursday night optional session at the Mid-American Umpire Clinic in September.

One of the first things we do when handing out background paperwork to prospective new hire police employes, his to have them "friend" the background investigator on all their social media sites (we already know which they belong to). We then check what they have been posting. A co-worker's son is a HS pitcher and just signed with a D1 school. They did the same thing.

Employers and colleges want to know as much as possible about the person they are investing in.

[dumbdumb]

This is a topic I'm researching right now. I plan on discussing this during our Thursday night optional session at the Mid-American Umpire Clinic in September.

One of the first things we do when handing out background paperwork to prospective new hire police employes, his to have them "friend" the background investigator on all their social media sites (we already know which they belong to). We then check what they have been posting. A co-worker's son is a HS pitcher and just signed with a D1 school. They did the same thing.

Employers and colleges want to know as much as possible about the person they are investing in.

Would that include this site???? Please list sites affected.