MySpace Privacy or I Know What you did last summer

Below is an article from a local paper in Oregon:

Salem-News.com (Jan-09-2008 12:09)
MySpace Photos of Oregon Mayor Causing Stir in Arlington
Tim King Salem-News.com
Arlington "Home of the Honkers" has a slight image problem.

Arlington, Oregon's Mayor Carmen Kontur Gronquist
Photo: MySpace.com

(ARLINGTON, Ore.) - It is the "Home of the Honkers" and it is hard to miss the irony. A scantily clad image of the city of Arlington, Oregon's mayor is making the rounds on the Web today after news agencies lifted the image from her public MySpace page.
Arlington, Oregon's Mayor Carmen Kontur Gronquist did what many people do in the new Millennium; she posted images of herself on MySpace wearing lingerie. Maybe posing on a city fire vehicle was pushing it a bit, but then I lived in Las Vegas for five years where calendars feature the city's "sexiest firefighters."
We aren't talking nudity here folks, or overly expressive poses. So far just one image has crossed our desk and it is a sexy but somewhat tasteful photo.
Either way, the mayor is taking heat according to reports posted today as her lightly clad image flies around the Internet. One source, Digg.com, reports that this public official doesn’t care what other people will say about her pictures. Who can blame her? It is a free country last time I checked.
Another source, associatedcontent.com, points to the traditional side of this community of 524 residents that is named for the birthplace of Robert E. Lee. Their article suggests that the MySpace image of Gronquist is a poor fit with the city's rodeo and apple pie image.
Gronquist told the East Oregonian January 5th, that the photos are part and parcel of her personal life, and that they have no bearing on her professional life. Still, it appears that some local residents disagree and instead worry about their town's image as her photo is viewed by the rest of the world.
FOX News reported that the photos were taken some time before Gronquist became the town's Mayor. She has held the office for three years. It appears FOX and the conservative East Oregonian got their shovels out for this one. I am writing about it too, granted, but this strikes me as a matter of interest and not exactly a news story.
The mayor told reporters that there are citizens in the community who are perennially digging up dirt on others - "especially when it is considered salacious - and thus gives little thought to the concerns about residents with respect to the photos."
And there are Arlington residents coming to her aid, calling it a waste of time and a needless focus of attention. The Mayor did not pose nude, there are no allegations of anything other than a picture that could have been taken on a beach and caused little stir. Unless that beach was in Eastern Oregon of course.
For now, the Mayor has set her MySpace page to private. We placed a call to her office and she was not available for comment. If she reaches us we will bring you her remarks.
MySpace Photos of Oregon Mayor Causing Stir in Arlington
Salem-News.com

MySpace and several other similar communities are supposed to be an expression of personal expression. The problem is that they are not being used entirely for the purpose of making friends. People are taking content of your pages and using it against you. This is not being done in a court of law but in the areas of college and employment applications.

College and employment recruiters will routinely “Google” an applicant to help determine what type of person they are. This information is then evaluated and used in the review process. However, even more recently as in case of a Mayor in Oregon, her MySpace was used as a means to have her removed from office. Where do the lines of employment screening start and end.?

The former Mayor was removed from office after photos that she had taken for a fitness campaign began circulating around her town. She did not pose in the nude. She was not involved in a major conspiracy. She was promoting fitness. The funny thing is now a day it is possible to see more skin from women on the beach or even walking around towns. I think the only thing she was guilty of was posting these photos of her on a MySpace page. She might have used some judgment on posting these photos.

In comments made by the former mayor the photos were for a fitness layout in a magazine. That is the problem with any materials posted on Web Sites. These materials, blogs, journals, photos and videos are viewed and any number of people can place their own spin on what they see.

The caption on the enclosed photo was “Bachelor Party-Atlantic City” One might look at it and view it as, four men having a good time in celebration of an upcoming marriage. Another might look at it and see a drunken fling. A Human Relations representative might see possible abuse of alcohol or promoting of drinking. No matter what one person sees, someone else will see something else.

Good judgment should be exercised when posting to personal pages. I would truly hate to be turned down for a job because one weekend, I went away with some friends on a trip. Should content of a personal page be judged when considering an applicant? Would it be right for a recruiter to turn you down because you had “White Sox Rules” on your page and he was a die hard Cubs fan? Would you want to be terminated from a job because some HR representative was digging and found a picture of you at a party while you were in college? Where does one draw the line?

The purpose of these pages is creates social networks over the Internet. You may want to meet people, make friends and network. The main rule which anyone should consider is “Do I want other people to see this stuff?” If not sure then don’t post it or set your profile to private.