The ITS department suggests extreme caution when using community sites (such as Facebook) or open blogging sites (such as blogger).

Since these sites are hosted by providers outside of the University of Detroit Mercy and are in no way affiliated with the University of Detroit Mercy, we are limited in our ability to provide assistance as issues arise. Any personal data shared may be easily stored and permanently archived by anyone with access to the information. The best we can offer students and parents is to contact the “postmaster” or “webmaster” of the site for technical issues and local law enforcement for criminal issues.

For students entering the workforce, today’s media frequently report of employers who screen popular community and blogging sites for any information on potential candidates. The nature of data from such sites may not publicly properly represent your abilities and may reduce your chances of employment.

We would also suggest, when communicating by e-mail with potential employers to utilize an e-mail account with a name that reflects professionalism and not one that would discourage an employer to pursue you. Clearly, firstname.lastname@company.com or your university e-mail account is more appealing and professional to employers than party.animal@site.com.

For more information on this topic, we strongly suggest web searching sites for related stories to make your own educated decision on how you chose to surf the internet and what you chose to share in this world-wide forum.