More Employers Are Using Social Media Background Checks

Social Media Background Checks Becoming More Common

July 23, 2011 2:25 PM

Reporting Hadas Kuznits

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – You’ve heard of employers conducting criminal and background checks. Now, some companies are also conducting social media checks of potential employees.

Evan Urbania with Chatterbox, a social media consulting firm, explains there are companies who can gather all your online comments, posts, feeds and photos to create a profile of who you are online.

“We know that the software and technology and tools that are out there started kind of really recording and logging the social space, going back to about 2005 and 2006 when social media really started to take shape,” Urbania says.

He also says the firms aren’t doing any secret detective work; they’re simply gathering information that’s already out there.

“The default settings for a lot of these profiles and for a lot of your history on the web is kind of set for public.”

Urbania says today, it’s more important than ever to be conscious of our online image, and he says it’s in each individual’s power to create something that’s positive or negative.

“Clearly, we all have the ability to be our own voice, our own publisher, our own broadcast network, and that’s really powerful. It’s really important, and it has implications both to your personal brand, to you as an individual and to your employer!”

Reported by Hadas Kuznits, KYW Newsradio

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Anonymous

@ guess who: You’re so fu – - ing prejudiced and racist you can’t even stick to the issue. You always have to find some way to put your racial slur up in there, don’t you? I feel so sorry for you. Your heart will never learn to love. And the worse yet, you still have not even learned to love yourself. You are a really sad excuse for a human being. I really do feel sorry for you.
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None O. Yobusiness

“We know that the software and technology and tools that are out there started kind of really recording and logging the social space, going back to about 2005 and 2006 “——–seems like the software records your info regardless of your personal privacy settings Joe.
None O. Yobusiness

some of us don’t take Phacebook serious enough to have it reflect our ACTUAL image or beliefs, it should be illegal for companies to view these comments, and assuming everyone is taking it as serious as you is foolish. At this point with 10% unemployment they will start weeding out people by using extreme measures like this and it’s not right! It’s over stepping the boundaries between WORK and play… If you want to know about my work history contact my previous employers or the contacts I have listed!…..is it true you ate fast food 6 times last week? Sorry we can’t give you the job you were seen watching a rater R movie on netflix….this is beyond creepy. 1984. Big brother has given bad examples of what is deemed OK, wiretaps and investigative gathering of PERSONAL information is wrong…step in and stop this abuse!
joe

just set your page to private so no one can see unless you want them to, easy.

anon513

I have all of my settings at “FRIENDS ONLY”, and I went to the bottom and UN-CHECKED the box that will allow public viewing. Unless this is a false sense of security, then I’m covered.

Msnoneyabusiness

That is just another form of discrimination. What anyone says online during their personal time is just t\hat and guaranteed by the CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. Guess free speech does not exist any longer huh or it just applies to certain people.
bottomline

Hitler would love this new era of enhanced legal snooping. I can’t seem to remember why we fought those nasty Nazi’s, they never spied or collected my personal opinions to use for, or against me, at a later date, I could smoke my cigarettes, eat fatty food, safely walk down the street, say words that best fit the situation and we didn’t protect criminals because they had a unhappy childhood… what was that war all about?
Guess Who

And this is why I don’t have a Fay Spo ok page.