Revelations

A new law in Washington State bars employers from asking their employees for their social media passwords. Now if you're in the middle of an interview and some guy from Human Resources says, "Well this all looks fine, but we'll still need to take a peek at your Facebook page," you can tell Mister Flenderson "Thank you, no." All of that dirty laundry you have sitting in that cyber hamper stays put, right where it was: on Al Gore's Internet for anyone to see. Anyone with a modicum of skill or wiles or both, that is.
It's a nice protection from having your boss or prospective boss checking out those pictures from last year's Halloween party. Or the comments you made about your last boss. Or the funny story about how you embezzled a hundred thousand dollars from the retirement fund. Get it? You could retire early with that money! But that's private. At least it is in Washington State.
Around here, I have had a few weeks to mull this whole privacy issue as I learned that scientists from a distant galaxy (The University of Southern California) were viewing my blog. The goal of the experiment, as I understood it, was to try and anticipate my moods and movements based on the posts I have made over a prolonged period of time. How far could I roam or change with this self-imposed electronic collar around my neck? I have no idea how accurate their findings will be. Perhaps they have already anticipated that I would start writing more about the relative privacy of social media. I'm not a PhD. candidate, but I suppose I might have anticipated that.
Which brings us to the obvious question: What sort of things might you hope to find revealed here? Secrets? Confessions? Well, maybe the problem is that the revelations that could be gained from reading this particular bit of social media won't keep me from getting into the college of my choice. My son? We'll have to wait and see.