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How Not To Be a Facebook Victim

Tricky names may fool, but discretion rules if you care about your political career

By Victoria Floethe,  Newser User

Posted Jan 4, 2009 5:01 AM CST

(Newser) – Don't want a drunken Facebook picture to put a dent in your political career? (Listen up, Jon Favreau!) "The whole point of being young, after all, is to do stupid things, and the whole point of Facebook is to record these acts for posterity," Abbie Callard writes for Slate. But you don't have to be a casualty of your own stupidity. Here's her advice on how not to be a Facebook victim:

  • Use a tricky name: Facebook bars you from using a false name, but a modified version of your real name (à la "J.S. McCain") makes you harder to find.
  • Beg your friends to be discrete: "Untagging" photos will make them harder to find, but your future downfall could still be posted on your friend's page.


  • Don't write drunken messages on people's walls: When the temptation arises, "imagine the headlines during primary season."
  • Do be clubby: Privacy settings let you segregate your friends to different parts of your page. Pals see the keg stand, and the DNC chairman "that you are currently reading Crime and Punishment."
  • Watch out for groups: Belonging may make you feel warm and cozy, but groups like "I Paint My Fingernails Like A Blind Parkinson's Patient" may not win you points.

Mohammad al-Qahtani, one of 13 activists who began a public hunger strike to demand judiciary reform. The men posted a statement on  Facebook to announce the strike and urge others to participate.
Mohammad al-Qahtani, one of 13 activists who began a public hunger strike to demand judiciary reform. The men posted a statement on Facebook to announce the strike and urge others to participate.   (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg poses at his office in Palo Alto.  Zuckerberg is hoping to avoid a backlash as the popular online hangout prepares to impose its new look on its 100 million users.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg poses at his office in Palo Alto. Zuckerberg is hoping to avoid a backlash as the popular online hangout prepares to impose its new look on its 100 million users.   (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma, file)
This Facebook photo was used by a prosecutor to paint a man, who seriously injured a woman in a drunk driving car crash, as an unrepentant partier.
This Facebook photo was used by a prosecutor to paint a man, who seriously injured a woman in a drunk driving car crash, as an unrepentant partier.   (AP Photo/State of Rhode Island Office of the Attorney General)
This photo of Favreau and Clinton appeared on Facebook on Dec. 6
This photo of Favreau and Clinton appeared on Facebook on Dec. 6   (elbrookman)
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It may be that in the future, instead of fearing politicians' online pasts, we may actually come to accept, and even expect, them as a helpful measure of authenticity. - Facebook spokesperson

Maybe, by the time you want to run for office, no one will care about all the seedy information out there...Transparency has evolved from Bill Clinton's "didn't inhale" to Obama's "I inhaled frequently; that was the point. - Abbie Callard

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