Traps of the Information Age: Blogs, Voice Mail and E-mail
Well it is here. The information age. So nice to just “check it out on the web.” Viruses, all sorts of malware and threats to data, identity theft and that is just for starters. The real issue is the digital paper trail that is left by the unwary. You only have to take a look at national politics on a given day to see that stupidity is rampant in the digital world among many who just don’t think.
Yes, it is easy to access the web. Jut remember that those blogs are there and they don’t come back. That e-mail is out there waiting for someone to use it later in life. Many people have sent a message to one person thinking that they sent it to a different one. Yes, even attorneys have sent a message to someone, using auto fill, only to find out that it went to the opposing attorney or someone else.
It still amazes me what people will say on voice mail, things they would never say in person. There it is nicely saved for use later. Those messages come back to haunt us. And the e-mails and cell phone call records that are out there on someone’s server just waiting for an investigation by someone with enough money or power to access them. No this is not China I am talking about, it is America. And here we know what we are doing and have the freedom to do it.
Think! Use caution with what you put out on the internet, through a web site, comments on a blog, the voice mail system. Would you want to see it again in print or at the real estate commission or in court? Welcome to the digital life trail that never gets erased.
