We’ve all heard the stories of people who put crazy statements on their Facebook status, causing not only great embarrassment to them, but often cause them to lose their jobs too.

Crazy status updates

You know the kind of thing…. “OMG, I am sooooo hungover, hope everyone is having fun working today while I have a ‘sickie’ “ or “I SO hate my boss blah blah blah”.

Okay, so these really are extreme examples of stupidity online, but what is truly amazing though, is quite how many people put little or no thought into their online presence.

Don’t forget that the starting point for most people when looking to research potential clients, candidates, employers, business partners, colleagues or friends is Google. They open a web browser and they search.

If you want to stand out from the crowd

If you want to stand out from the crowd, and show yourself as different and memorable, just a little time invested in producing a great online presence goes a long, long way. Most people now have a Facebook page and/or Twitter profile. Most of us are on Linked In and some even blog. This is all great and a step in the right direction.

And the importance of a great online presence, doesn’t end there. If you ever wondered how a potential employer uses social media in the hiring process, here are some stats that I found recently and they are quite eye opening (source: reppler.com).

So, with these in mind, it really is time to have another look at what you put out onto the world-wide web. And while you are at it, get onto that privacy policy page and limit who can see what about you.

Remember, no matter how careful you usually are, one mistake will not go away. What you put online you cannot take away.