tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1658138279766595241.post5618254074824541421..comments2024-01-04T04:31:00.481-05:00Comments on Mixed Race America: Self-censoringJenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13261371053113519712noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1658138279766595241.post-42148618214203069332008-12-22T15:58:00.000-05:002008-12-22T15:58:00.000-05:00CVT,I've heard of the My Space & Facebook ...CVT,<BR/>I've heard of the My Space & Facebook hiring issues as well. I've also heard of profs. using it to find out whether students lie when they say they have to attend a grandparent's funeral or other such egregious issues of trying to get out of an exam. <BR/><BR/>I usually give my students the "karma" talk, so I don't worry too much about whether they lie about killing off a near relative.<BR/><BR/>[The karma talk is where I tell my students that I believe in karma--and the principle of what comes around goes around--that the energy you put out in the world will be returned to you. Therefore, they shouldn't ever lie about killing off a grandparent to get out of an exam or as an excuse to turn in a paper late. Because if they do something like that, if they lie in this manner, then years later, when they least expect it, something TRULY HORRIBLE AND BAD will happen to them, and then they'll have to think back to what I just said about karma and realize that it has bitten them on the a** 10X harder than they planned.<BR/><BR/>But to get to the point about this post, yes, self-censoring is a necessary thing in the blogging and real worlds, and in the scheme of things, not such a big deal, because we self-censor on a nearly daily basis a lot of times (if you are feeling crappy do you really say you feel crappy to the check-out clerk at the grocery store? The more honest among you might. But only with close friends would you ever say to someone that the pants they are wearing makes them look fat or that their new hair cut is ugly--we censor ourselves in myriad ways all the time--it's how we can get by, socially, together instead of killing each other, I think).<BR/><BR/>Enough rambling--I'm going to continue web surfing since I found that Newark Airport has free wifi and I have 3 hours to kill before my flight boards.Jenniferhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13261371053113519712noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1658138279766595241.post-68796918080718434162008-12-21T11:04:00.000-05:002008-12-21T11:04:00.000-05:00This just means that, in two years when you have t...This just means that, in two years when you have tenure, there should be some VERY juicy blog-topics rolling out of this . . .<BR/><BR/>But I definitely get what you're saying - that's why I don't blog under my real name. I just don't want the wrong folks reading my blog at the wrong time, you know? It's too bad it has to work like that, but the internet is so very public in so many ways.<BR/><BR/>I've also heard of hiring committees finding applicants' MySpace, Facebook, and other similar websites, and if they see something they don't like - no hire (and just setting the site to "private" doesn't keep them from seeing it, apparently). It makes sense that blogs would be a similar thing.CVThttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04097386572053924474noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1658138279766595241.post-37248912558503505362008-12-20T13:22:00.000-05:002008-12-20T13:22:00.000-05:00Jennifer,Thanks for your comment and for being rea...Jennifer,<BR/>Thanks for your comment and for being reassuring. I think you are right--that regardless of whether I had tenure or not and regardless of whether we're in academia or not, there are things that are appropriate to share on a blog, with or without a pseudonym, and things that, as tempting as it would be to share, is probably not politically expedient/politically correct (and I really mean that in the "correct" sense).<BR/><BR/>I think what I'm feeling is being on the other side of my 3rd year review (which went fine)--and the odd thing is that I hadn't felt worried/anxious before my 3rd year review, but even though it went well, I now feel the palpable sense of what it's going to be like to be up for tenure.<BR/><BR/>(sigh)<BR/><BR/>If I'm still blogging I"m sure I'll be sharing some of what I'm going through, but hopefully I won't over-share!Jenniferhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13261371053113519712noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1658138279766595241.post-53038629986906758722008-12-20T01:43:00.000-05:002008-12-20T01:43:00.000-05:00It's sad that any of us need to think about these ...It's sad that any of us need to think about these things. I wish I could say something more encouraging but it's just reality. I don't think anyone can fault you for playing it safe and smart now - doing so means that in the long run, you can accomplish more. In my own case, I didn't start blogging until after I had tenure (partly because I had no clue) but even with tenure, I occasionally find myself questioning whether something I put out there could potentially come back to haunt me professionally (and I don't even blog about anything particularly controversial!). It can be a tricky area to navigate, and probably why there are so many academic bloggers who use pseudonyms. On the one hand, I don't blame them and I think it can mean a much richer conversation when people aren't worried about being honest; on the other hand, personally, I'd prefer to know who I'm really interacting with. <BR/><BR/>At any rate, I certainly hope the tenure gods appreciate your sacrifice!Jennifer Imazekihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15217003898479507362noreply@blogger.com