“The way to gain a good reputation is to endeavor to be what you desire to appear” -Socrates

Growing up in a small town (high school graduating class of 12 to be exact) my reputation always preceded me wherever I went. I’m pretty sure the coffee shop knew what I was up to that day before the sun ever rose. I give credit to my Papa for that one.

Those are the benefits, and curses, of a small town.

News travels fast.

Sub-sequentially, I moved to a college 6 hours away from my hometown.

But the funny thing is, some things don’t change.

I lead a very normal life. Typical american-dream stuff. Nothing interesting here. Nothing about my life concerns new media. Right? I occasionally post on Facebook.

AND BY OCCASIONALLY I MEAN ONCE EVERY 2 MONTHS, MAYBE.

I only accept friends I know.

I’m actually a certified social media guru, because with a college diploma in hand, I have deleted my embarrassing menagerie of Junior High photos from the inter webs. I even set up a LinkedIn. Bonafide professional.

Or so I Thought…

Did you know that 92% of children under the age of two have a digital shadow? Yep. All of those sonograms and baby announcements you see on Facebook establish the Child's digital legacy BEFORE THEY’RE BORN.

You can pick up a copy of What Happens on Campus Stays on Youtube here to read about everything I just said.

It's a pretty scary thought knowing these children have a social media presence before they are even born.

But I guess that's kinda similar to how my small town was — just on a MUCH larger scale.

In a small town you don’t get a choice and nothing is private about your life.

Honestly, New Media isn’t new.

This is nothing ground breaking. Technology isn’t taking over the world. We are just experiencing human nature magnified.

Instead of your moms-5th grade teacher’s-cousin knowing about what you did last Friday night, your future employer might. Or a middle aged man in Dubai. Who really knows? They are all strangers to you anyway.

I didn’t know my moms-5th grade teacher’s-cousin either. I questioned why she cared about my life just as much as you might wonder why some middle aged man in Dubai does about yours. So lets put our big girl panties on and accept that we are experiencing something, we already know a lot about!

“I like the idea of media as the ‘oil on canvas’. What is left after you remove the oil and the canvas? There’ s nothing left. So, it’ s a vehicle for knowledge.” – Cesar Hidalgo

Historically “new media” was the town newspaper, coffee shop gossip, party line phones, or postcards. Nowadays the vehicle has changed a lot, but the knowledge has stayed the same. We may live in the information age, but were all aiming for the same outcome: a good reputation. So I suggest you continue to live as your past generations have; act as though your Papa is watching you (with his coffee shop friends nearby).

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At the end of the day the only “New” rules about our reputation is who we share it with, so make sure your privacy settings are appropriate. And find peace knowing that the world has just become one big — small town, because if I survived one reputation-in-tact, you can too!