These are from the March 8th issue of USA Today…

Michael Guinn posted pictures of himself in drag on FaceBook which led to stories of his boyfriends and nights out clubbing. One of his schoolmates showed this to an administrator at John Brown University. At most schools this wouldn’t be a problem other than the fact that John Brown is a conservative Christian college. Mr. Guinn was kicked out of John Brown.
Admissions dean Paul Marthers at Reed College in Portland, Ore., says the school denied admission this year to one applicant in part because his entries on blogging site LiveJournal included disparaging comments about Reed.

Two Louisiana State swimmers were kicked off the team last spring for criticizing their coaches on Facebook. A University of Colorado offensive tackle was suspended from a bowl game in December for sending a racially threatening message through Facebook to a Colorado cross-country runner.

An employer who was ready to hire a student from Vermont Technical College in Randolph Center changed his mind after seeing the student's Facebook page, says Lauri Sybel, director of the college career center. Since then, Sybel says she has checked other students' pages to make sure they weren't hurting their job prospects.
The Price of Celebrity

The more famous or popular you are, the more likely you are to be a target of slanderous material.

Do a search for Bill Gates in Google. As of late August 2006, the first page of results show a Web site called “Bill Gates is Dead” as well as a blog entry about the founder of Microsoft along with photos of him doing his sexiest pose.

Anyone who knows a thing or two about search engines can employ something called “Google Bombing”. The most famous example would be President Bush’s bio appearing at the top of the search results for “miserable failure”.

In a similar vain, if you search for “liar” on the Google UK site, a link to the UK’s Prime Minister Tony Blair appears.

Mistaken Identity

“Yeah, well at least your name isn't Michael Bolton. There was nothing wrong with it... until I was about 12 years old and that no-talent ass clown became famous and started winning Grammys.” Michael Bolton – Office Space

Just about everyone shares their name with someone else. Take Eddie Johnson, for example. Here is the former NBA player Eddie Johnson…

Edward (Eddie) Arnet Johnson (born May 1, 1959 in Chicago, Illinois) is a former professional basketball player who spent 17 seasons in the NBA. A sharpshooting 6'7" forward/guard, Johnson attended the University of Illinois before being selected by the Kansas City Kings in the 1981 NBA Draft. Johnson retired from basketball in 1999 with 19,202 career points.– Source Wikipedia.com


Here, also, is Eddie Johnson who was also in the NBA…
Edward "Fast Eddie" Johnson Jr. -- being held in a Florida jail on sexual battery and burglary charges -- is a 6-foot-2, two-time NBA All-Star who played most of his career in Atlanta. An Auburn alum, he retired in 1987 and is 51.

Unfortunately for the first Eddie Johnson, his picture was placed next to the online accusations of sexual battery and burglary in several publications. Edward Arnet Johnson has since had a very difficult time shaking off this case of mistaken identity in the public eye and probably will take some time to clear himself.

Do you have a name doppelganger out there that shares your name but is a sexual predator, murderer, or maybe just a total dork? You need to work to separate yourself from that other ass clown. A little bit later, we will show you ways to do so.

Your Impending Career

“Yes. It is true. I, Michael Scott, am signing up with an online dating service. Thousands of people have done it, and I am going to do it. I need a username, and... I have a great one. "Little Kid Lover". That way people will know exactly where my priorities are at.” Michael Scott – The Office

Nowadays resumes and references will only get you so far. Recruiters and employers are doing search engine background checks on prospective employees.

Multiple sources have reported that companies are employing college interns to research digital dirt on job applicants referencing sites like MySpace and FaceBook. Your peers are even selling you out. Why not? Competition can be fierce. You out of the running only means more jobs for them.

It’s one thing for your friends or family to come across some questionable material on the internet. It may not even be questionable in your eyes. But, if the choice has been narrowed to you or another candidate for the job or internship, your online identity may make or break a company’s decision to hire you.

This is part of an ongoing series of post from the eBook "Not Just Your Space - The College Student’s Guide to Managing Online Reputation" by Tom Drugan of Naymz.com

Please See: Part One: Not Just Your Space - Introduction and Digital Dirt