What you post is there for everyone to see, and it stays there for everyone to see.
Jena Cloud learned a tough lesson about that this week, after she went to the Napa Valley Register Web site to post comments on a story about her own arrest for spray-painting graffiti in Napa.
Cloud, using the screen name imajenPeace, wrote four comments in response to the July 29 article, taking credit for the graffiti spree. She explained that her mom is proud of her and countered those who wrote to say they think graffiti is not a welcome sight around town.
Flash forward two weeks to Friday, when Cloud appeared in Napa County Superior Court related to her arrest. Her attorney waived Cloud’s right to a pretrial hearing, explaining that Cloud had admitted guilt in her comments on the Register’s Web site.
It appears unlikely that, as Cloud typed in her comments to our Web site, she considered the possible legal ramifications. In the eyes of the law, however, those public statements are not terribly different than an admission made verbally or in writing to a witness. They are evidence.
This is an unusual circumstance that points to a common-sense rule for commenters: Remember, what you put out on the Internet is there for everyone to see. If you don’t want it seen — and potentially interpreted, misinterpreted or used as a call to action — think twice before hitting the “send” button. This applies to comments, videos, photos and more.
How, besides in Ms. Cloud’s unfortunate circumstance, can something like this come to bite you in the backside?
How about going in to apply for a job, only to have the prospective employer do a search for your Facebook or MySpace page, finding photos of — hypothetically — a wild party? Now there’s a good way to make an impression on a future boss.
Maybe the photos, the videos, the thoughts are even racier than that. Would-be employers are not the only ones out there. There are so-called “online predators” and other Web surfers you may not have in mind when you post material for friends to see.
Here’s the flash for you, think before you post anything. You might not want to absorb the stares in public as people recognize you as “that girl from the Internet” mentioned in the TV public service ad. The consequences could be more difficult to handle than simply watching for the critical remarks of others.
Just ask Jena Cloud.
Dan Ross is the Register’s Multimedia Producer. He writes on local, state and national issues when he’s not driving around trying to count how many Starbucks locations there are in Napa. He can be reached at dross@napanews.com or 256.2264.
