I have recently gotten several PM's from people who's blogs I read asking what I do for a living. I was thinking this is a little odd because I have never asked any of my GS friends what they do.

   There area couple of reasons I don't post what I do for a living. I may be alittle paranoid, but I don't give out too much information on the internet. I think the risks of ID theft or anything like that is minimal at best, but it still freaks me out a little to give away too much info about myself or my family.

   Secondly, the administration where I work has recently become paranoid about what employees do online. We have received briefings and e-mails about what is appropriate and what is not appropriate to post on a My Space page. This bothers me on some levels, but I can kind of understand.

   I was a teacher and now have a job working for the city. I think personal freedoms are very important, but I can see how people look at what teachers and civil employees differently. I understand that the city department I work for could catch some flack if I posted things that made me look like a racist, or that the school district I worked for would be in trouble if I looked like a pervert. It wouldn't surprise me one bit if someone complained that their child was being taught by someone who liked the GTA and Resident Evil series (I would think they were making a rash judgement, but the complaint wouldn't surprise me).

   I know more and more companies are looking into their employee's web activities. I'm torn between thinking this is a strict invasion of privacy, and seeing the employer's point. I know that anyone who deals with decisions that affect the lives of customers (loan officers, administrators, city officials, etc.) can get their companies sued if they post something that leads people to think any sort of prejudice or discrimination has ever been involved in their decisions. 

   Lastly, I come to GS to get away from work. I love my job and have great friendships with many of the people I work with. Still, when I come home the last thing I want to talk about is work. I enjoy reading blogs about people's opinions or the important things going on in their lives (families, houses, etc.). I figure that if I wanted to talk about work, I'd just e-mail my co-workers.

   I was just wondering if I'm being too paranoid or sensitive.  Please let me know what you think about talking about work on GS or My Space.