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Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Neeka who wrote (90216)	12/11/2004 1:16:21 PM
From: Neeka	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 793838

Speaking of googling: Who's Googling You? Study says 23 percent of people surveyed investigate coworkers online. Jason Tuohey, Medill News Service Friday, December 03, 2004 Do you know what pops up when you Google yourself? You should, because odds are someone you work with or know does. A study released last month by Harris Interactive and Dogpile, a search engine run by InfoSpace, shows that 23 percent of Internet users polled search for information on coworkers, employees, potential employees, bosses, or clients. The study was conducted online, and based on responses from 2266 people. Googling has become a shorthand word for these types of searches since so many begin at the Google search engine. If you pop your own name in, you might find a Web site with older pictures showing an unfortunate hairdo. You may discover that someone more famous has your exact name. Or you might find nothing at all. But if you haven't done an online search for yourself lately, you ought to try it--somebody else probably has. Adriane Aul, who works for an affordable-housing organization in Washington, D.C., is typical of the 23 percent who are searching. According to ComScore Networks, which studies consumer behavior, that number comprises more than 36 million Americans. "I Googled myself [as well as] organizations and people," Aul admits. She says curiosity drove her to the search engine. InfoSpace spokesperson Deb Hagen says the study backs up Aul's reasoning, listing curiosity as the search motivation for 71 percent of respondents. Hagen adds that about 85 percent of searchers look for personal contact information, like phone numbers or addresses. Close-Ended Questions and Potential Problems Unfortunately, the survey structure, which allowed respondents only to choose from a series of set answers, doesn't specify what people do with the information they glean. Hagen speculates the curiosity may be in relation to "researching the background of a job candidate." Derek Bambauer, a research fellow at the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at the Harvard Law School, says the study creates many questions, such as what type of background information employers are looking for. Searching for contact information on a client or employee is most likely harmless, Bambauer says. However, he adds that it opens the potential for discrimination by identifying an employee's political affiliations, sexual orientation, or health status. Although medical records are sealed to the public, some Web sites publish testimonies and e-mail addresses of cancer survivors, for instance. "It may be a way to get answers to questions that employers aren't legally allowed to ask," Bambauer says. Barbara Hoffman, who specializes in disability law at Rutgers and founded the National Coalition of Cancer Survivorship, says cancer survivors shouldn't worry about being identified online. "That's possible, but ... I would think that's a small percentage of people," Hoffman says of the possibility of identifying a cancer survivor through an Internet search. However, she acknowledges, "As more and more information becomes available in different ways, the dangers of that increase." More and More You can expect the practice to grow, according to Hagen. "We'd be very surprised if the number doesn't increase," she says. "Manage your personal information online to the best of your ability. It could affect your career." Aul, though, is ahead of the game. "I didn't find anything incriminating," she says about her self-Google. Related Topics: Google pcworld.com

To: Neeka who wrote (90216)	12/11/2004 2:35:16 PM
From: Lane3	Respond to of 793838

Such a float, we all know by now, would be “insensitive” to certain groups. So much of the commentary on this argues from assumptions that are made by those who take offense at the parade participation parameters. I've read most of what's been written about this and have seen nothing to substantiate the assumptions, including this one. If you had some quote from the organizers that expressed that rationale, you'd have a point. But when all the commentary feeds off of the shared sensitivities of the offended as opposed to the statements or acts of the organizers, well, that's just recycled sensitivity. Thousands of the people saying the same thing does not make thing a fact. but Christians asked to be included in this parade along side the quaint weirdos and were denied It will be interesting to see what happens next year. If it ends up that there's a creche in the parade sandwiched in between the belly dancers and the gays, all of it presided over by Mickey Mouse, I'm going to laugh my ass off. Be careful what you wish for. If they reschedule it to "January or February" as suggested by the reverend, that will be interesting, too. Since three weeks before Christmas is unacceptable for the parade as is because that's the "Christmas season," it would be interesting to see how they react to the week after Christmas. That would be January.