Are You Now, or Have You Ever Been, Embarrassed Online? [UPDATED]
BY Micah L. Sifry | Thursday, November 13 2008
Uh-oh. The day has finally arrived, when future White House employees must ask themselves, "Is that Facebook wall post still up where I ______?" "Did X tag me in that photo on Flickr, or will people not recognize me?" The possibilities are endless, and frankly, absurd.
But, as the New York Times reported this morning, the incoming Obama Administration is asking applicants such questions as "if you have ever sent an electronic communication, including but limited to an email, text message or instant message, that could suggest a conflict of interest or be a possible source of embarrassment to you, your family, or the President-Elect if it were made public," and "please provide the URL address of any websites that feature you in either a personal or professional capacity (e.g., Facebook, My Space [sic], etc.)."
What are we to make of such requests? First of all, does the first question automatically put White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel's appointment into doubt? If he hasn't sent a few salty emails to some of his colleagues or enemies over the years, I'll eat my hat. But, hey, maybe the Emanuel selection is a signal that it's ok if you use four-letter words in your emails. Let's stipulate then, that the internet isn't the same as broadcast TV, and the FCC rules on the dirty word you can't say on TV won't be a hindrance to someone getting a job in the Obama administration.
But beyond the Emanuel Exception, how is a potential employee to judge whether they've ever written or posted something embarrassing? To me, the fact that Governor Bill Richardson lists "The Eagles" as one of his favorite bands on Facebook is pretty embarrassing. I think the only guide we have is to look at the people who have already been named to various positions in the transition. If what they've got online didn't disqualify them, then it shouldn't disqualify you.
For example, there are some fun pictures of one of the transition staff up on Flickr. If such photos were the sort of thing that could get a person disqualified from an Obama job, then that person presumably wouldn't be on the transition team. So I'm hopeful that at least when it comes to silly pictures online, the Obama team has a sense of humor.
(In an earlier version of this post, I had actually named someone on the transition staff, and posted a few choice photos, but my partner Andrew Rasiej convinced that I didn't need to name names. So, just to show we have a sense of humor, here's an example of what I'm talking about, from Andrew's Facebook page. He claims he wore this for Halloween:
Should this disqualify Andrew from possibly working with the Obama administration? I hope not.)
More seriously, though, while I can understand an incoming administration doing everything it can to minimize potential problems in advance, I am hoping that we don't see the rise of a white-glove test for entering public service. In the internet age, the odds are close to zero that there isn't a picture somewhere online of you picking your nose, or chugging a beer, or doing something "embarrassing." Let's hope that the Obama vetters focus on the important stuff, like financial or ethical misbehavior and conflicts of interest. Let's not create a situation where people are afraid to express themselves online because someday someone might use their words or image to "embarrass" them or their boss. The last thing we want is a situation where people are reluctant to post photos like this one, from Election Night at Obama HQ:
