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Abram Hoffer

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Did you close your Facebook or MySpace account prior to applying to residencies this year? If yes, are you going to re-open it? When?
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Why close your accounts?
Just adjust your privacy settings!
 
escape78 said:
Why close your accounts?
Just adjust your privacy settings!
Click to expand...
I closed mine, just in case. Privacy settings are good, but... I don't know. Didn't have anything obnoxious, in terms of content, just didn't want to muddy the waters. I suppose I could have just adjusted the privacy settings.
 
Abram Hoffer said:
Did you close your Facebook or MySpace account prior to applying to residencies this year? If yes, are you going to re-open it? When?
Click to expand...

A lot of residency programs I've seen make fairly significant use of facebook as an avenue of communication and social events between residents and even hospitlists/attendings. So it's not as much a need to close it as to clean it up and make it professional.
 
They were closed a month before starting the application process. Even with privacy settings, googling your name can sometimes bring up links to your page through friends' pages. In retrospect, I see how time-wasting those were for me. They're not being reopened. Even if my pages are "professional" it just doesn't feel right to me at this point in my career.
 
Never opened a facebook page and I never will. Myspace at least is useful as a musician to post songs and have a band website. I don't need the "stalker" capabilities of facebook. (No offense to anyone that finds it useful to keep in touch with people, etc.)
 
guitarguy09 said:
Never opened a facebook page and I never will. Myspace at least is useful as a musician to post songs and have a band website. I don't need the "stalker" capabilities of facebook. (No offense to anyone that finds it useful to keep in touch with people, etc.)
Click to expand...


They are essentially the same thing, both have the same stalker potential.

You can post songs and have a band website on Facebook. Lots do.
 
My wife and I have a blog. We decided to put it under password protection a few months before apps went out - just so I could continue to freely write. Not sure if we will end up removing the password protection in the future. It's mainly for friends and family to keep up with us and they already have the password.
 
I have a love-hate relationship with my FB account!

I wouldn't mind anyone in my residency having access to my account after I join a program as I don't have anything too embarrassing to hide.
I do have privacy settings in place so that people can't access anything of mine on FB by googling though. (Wouldn't want an unknown person looking through my stuff)

I just think now times have changed and rather than e-mailing people tend to organize social events via FB and its just become one of those necessities.
I have added so many 'friends' on my account that I have maintained a very basic and almost boring profile.
Just some pics with the husband from holidays etc.
 
ForeignBody said:
They are essentially the same thing, both have the same stalker potential.

You can post songs and have a band website on Facebook. Lots do.
Click to expand...

Years ago before FB took over the world they didn't have the same options. But you are definitely right in saying they have the same stalker potential.
 
escape78 said:
This is the part I don't understand. Why not email rather than use facebook?

I have the same opinion of text messaging- I got rid of it on my phone because it was so frickin annoying.
Click to expand...
 
No I didn't.
There is nothing inappropriate on my Facebook page, and nothing exciting. I also have the privacy settings set up so that nobody but my Facebook friends can see anything.
 
DonStracci said:
This is the part I don't understand. Why not email rather than use facebook?

I have the same opinion of text messaging- I got rid of it on my phone because it was so frickin annoying.
Click to expand...

:)
I guess you are probably right.
E-mail is convenient.
The thing with FB is that it is somehow more user-friendly when organizing an event such as meeting up for drinks etc.
Google maps has some sort of association with FB so when you type in a link to directions on your message a little window pops up below the message with a view of the map.
Overall, much easier when you are informally communicating with friends.

That being said...
I do prefer texting to calling!
? So maybe we prefer different methods of communicating!:confused:
 
ha! funny you should post this. i just closed down my beloved myspace account a week ago out of sheer paranoia. there was nothing incriminating on there it just feels like the stakes are too high now to even take a chance. my paranoia wishes i would have done it sooner. it will probably be back up after i match. especially if i move away its a great way for me to keep in touch with family and friends.
 
I password-protected my blog because it is a source of venting, and I didn't want anyone to get the wrong idea. Nothing bad, just more open than I would be in a professional setting. This is the epitome of the mistake these places make when they use a personal profile in supposition of a professional one.
 
My residency program has a facebook page with people from all years. We even have some attendings and staff as members.

I dont have anything bad on my facebook page so why worry!
 
I am torn. I have made new connections, caught up with a lot of old friends, and found people to stay with when visiting a new city via facebook. But does the "professionalism" edict mean that I can't have a public personality outside of being a doctor?

It's not like I'm going on a TV reality show, but I tend to post pictures of my friends and I having fun. Nothing too crazy, but maybe a drink might be in hand. I have made all the photos "friends only" but my friend list keeps expanding to include more acquaintances. Does anyone see a problem with keeping this when I start internship? Or should I just remove the photos and keep the boring profile?
 
As long as your photos are "friends only," and your friends are people who won't use them to embarrass you, you should be fine. For those people who are more of the acquaintance type, you can create individualized privacy settings to shield them from anything you don't want them to see.
 
redbeans said:
I am torn. I have made new connections, caught up with a lot of old friends, and found people to stay with when visiting a new city via facebook. But does the "professionalism" edict mean that I can't have a public personality outside of being a doctor?

It's not like I'm going on a TV reality show, but I tend to post pictures of my friends and I having fun. Nothing too crazy, but maybe a drink might be in hand. I have made all the photos "friends only" but my friend list keeps expanding to include more acquaintances. Does anyone see a problem with keeping this when I start internship? Or should I just remove the photos and keep the boring profile?
Click to expand...

You could keep your acquaintances on 'limited profiles' so that they do not have access to your pics/wall etc or have access only to limited albums that you wouldn't mind everyone having access to.

I haven't set limited profiles myself as I don't see anything wrong with acquaintances/colleagues seeing me letting my hair down mainly because I'm not one to paint the town red anyway!
 
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