By Christine Kent
chrisk@ckeditorial.com

The social network helps PR people and journalists build virtual relationships—not to mention business connections

You’re a grown-up. You probably think that sites like LinkedIn and Facebook are for the teenagers you live with, or for the recent college grads in your office who are trying to get dates.

[Note: I thought the last graph in this article is particularly interesting where schools are purusing MySpace and Facebook accounts of potential employees to help make hiring decisions...]

An ethics poll points up disturbing findings for hiring managers.
By Garry Kranz
[online@http://www.myragan.com/_forum/index.php?sub=1361&cat=331&threadnumber=535018#1

Generation ‘Why Not?’: Exactly what are young people learning prior to entering the workforce? Namely, that unethical behavior is justifiable in pursuit of their goals. According to Junior Achievement and Deloitte, nearly three-quarters of teenagers say they are fully prepared to make ethical decisions once they land a job. Yet nearly 40 percent of the same group “believe it is sometimes necessary to cheat, plagiarize, lie or even behave violently in order to succeed.”

Hiring people who condone this behavior poses a threat to corporations’ integrity and reputation, researchers say. The Junior Achievement/ Deloitte Teen Ethics Survey collected responses from a diverse group of 725 U.S. teens ages 13 to 18. Among the more alarming findings for hiring managers: Nearly 30 percent of teens claim that it is unfair for employers to suspend or fire employees for unethical behavior that occurs in their free time. Nearly the same percentage can’t decide (26 percent).

Similarly, nearly six in 10 teens surveyed oppose the right of employers to base hiring and firing decisions on material that employees have posted to the Internet. And in a finding that has implications on the honesty of future workers, nearly half the teens say it is OK to illegally download music online without paying for it, and 5 percent say it is acceptable to steal items from stores.

• 71% feel prepared to make ethical decisions when they start working. (I don’t know if this is good news or bad news).




• 24% think cheating on a test is acceptable; 54% of those teens say their personal desire to succeed is their rationale.




• 23% think violence toward someone is acceptable in order to settle an argument or take revenge.




• 27% don’t think it’s fair for an employer to suspend or fire a worker for behaving unethically outside of work.




• 57% don’t think it’s fair for employers to make hiring or firing decisions based on what employees or job candidates have posted on the Internet.

By Ian Shapira
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, April 28, 2008; Page A01

[online@http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/27/AR2008042702213.html?referrer=emailarticle

Public Profiles Raise Questions of Propriety and Privacy

It's almost like Googling someone: Log on to Facebook. Join the Washington, D.C., network. Search the Web site for your favorite school system. And then watch the public profiles of 20-something teachers unfurl like gift wrap on the screen, revealing a sense of humor that can be overtly sarcastic or unintentionally unprofessional -- or both.

The Journal
by Dave Nagel
[online@http://www.thejournal.com/articles/22549]

Non-profit TeachersFirst has partnered with Web technology provider TRintuition to launch the Building Learners Project, a service that allows educators to develop online collaborative learning projects using Web 2.0 technologies.

The partnership brings TRintuition's the workBench to TeachersFirst members. The workBench is an online authoring tool focused on education and designed for producing ePortfolios, student projects, and presentations. It also provides online communities for classes, teacher support groups, online training, and other activities.

As part of the partnership launch, 100 TeachersFirst members will be able to use the premium-level features of the workBench at no charge. Membership is free. Those wishing to participate can fill out an online application at the TeachersFirst site. A free, feature-limited version is also available for those who are not among the first 100 to sign up.

A membership application for TeachersFirst is available here. Further information about the Building Learners Project is available here.

edweek.org; Teacher Magazine

Teacher-in-training Stacy Snyder brought suit against Millersville University, alleging that she was denied her teaching credential because of a picture of herself as a “drunken pirate” on her MySpace page. Snyder is claiming her First Amendment rights were violated, according to ABC News.

Citing unsatisfactory performance and unprofessional behavior, university officials said they would have denied Snyder a degree regardless of the photo. The photo, which officials say promoted underage drinking, was “the straw that broke the camel’s back.”

Snyder’s suit, which is scheduled to go to trial on Tuesday, raises questions about teachers’ accountability to students—inside and outside the classroom. Some school districts have begun crafting policies to regulate the virtual lives of their employees, ABC News reports. “Teachers are also considered role models,” said Nora Carr, a spokeswoman for a North Carolina school district that is at work on such a policy.

The risk of having online profiles has prompted teachers associations and school district lawyers to caution teachers about what they put online. The Washington Post recently reported on a wave of teacher profiles featuring content that could be deemed inappropriate by administrators and parents, including strong sexual content, profanity, and discriminatory language.

CNN among the thousands of news agencies building their brand in the latest social networking environment--Second Life.

Are you a citizen of the virtual word of Second Life? Share your stories and experiences by uploading them here, or join us at the iReport hub in Second Life where you can get all the tools you need to be an SL iReporter.

http://www.ireport.com/ir-topic-stories.jspa?topicId=1307

Area teachers made examples of what not to do

By ANTHONY WILLIAMS
Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle

Most young people know the basics of landing a job: Prepare a résumé, compile references and dress up for the interview.

But a handful of 20-somethings got a staunch reminder last month of a subtler job-hunting lesson — that they need to polish their online profiles before entering the work force. A Houston TV station searched their Facebook pages, broadcasting some questionable photos and content.

By Ann Doss Helms
Charlotte Observer

A Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools teacher faces firing for posting derogatory comments about students on Facebook, while four others have been disciplined for posts involving “poor judgment and bad taste,” spokeswoman Nora Carr said Tuesday.

By PATRICK CONDON – 3 days ago [online@ http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iMzWHJ1dbZprUz9QXxfO3FsaIg9QD975V6FG2

FARGO, N.D. (AP) — When Kevin Tobosa got word Thursday that a friend needed help building a sandbag dike, he immediately posted a status update on his Facebook page: "Heading to 2825 Lilac Lane in North Fargo — needs to be raised another 2 feet."

When city officials needed volunteers at other dikes, Tobosa suggested setting up a Facebook group. By Thursday, it had attracted more than 4,550 members and was constantly picking up new ones.

Facebook Fan Finds Cafe Filled With Friends

By IRENE PAPOULIS

May 31, 2009

As an "old person," which is my 13-year-old son's term for anyone who grew up before computers, I really like Facebook, as do increasing numbers of my peers. But I'm often on the defensive when I try to explain why I like the popular social networking website.