Donna McCaw, is a professor of educational leadership at Western Illinois University in Macomb and co-author of "Accountability for Results: The Realities of Data-driven Decision-making."

It is not surprising that technology and the ever-growing Internet not only can steal our identity but can also distort it. With increasing numbers, recruiters, search firms, school board members and employers are using the Web to find information. Everyone knows that for less than $30, boards of education can obtain a credit report for a job applicant. But not everyone realizes that "harmless" sites like MySpace can also be career-shorteners.

More and more employers simply "Google" a name and discover information — some good, some damaging — about job applicants. Thomas Jacobson of McPherson & Jacobson LLC and Molly Hewitt, search executive with the California School Boards Association, both report conducting Internet searches on all applicants as they search the country for highly qualified, ethical and "clean" superintendent, central office and building-level leaders.

How much damage can a simple Internet search cause? In some cases, the on-line information can cost an applicant the chance for an interview, an employee their job and/or the chance for employment. Hewitt noted that there have been times when a candidate has made some questionable life decisions that show up on a Web search. Depending on the circumstances and the facts, they may or may not hurt employment opportunities.

Some firms encourage candidates to openly share with the person in charge of the search any incidents or information that might prove embarrassing. Hewitt noted that in some cases the explanation has proven to be sufficient to move the candidate to the next level of screening and/or interviewing and in some cases not. Due to the uniqueness of each situation and circumstance, it is challenging to state with absolute certainty how each "life story" will be understood.

Are there other types of searches that might be conducted on an applicant's life? Sara Rigg, e-learning technician for DOT Foods of Mount Sterling, Illinois, advises individuals also to search using their log-in identities. For example, dsmccaw, mfdsm and dmccaw are all user identities that I use and thus need to routinely search.

Social networks are a common method of communicating ideas and information. According to Wikipedia, a social network focuses on building communities of people who share interests and activities, or who are interested in exploring the interests and activities of others.

Most social network services are primarily Web-based and provide a collection of various ways for users to interact, such as chatting, messaging, e-mail, video, voice chat, file sharing, blogging, discussion groups, etc. Social networking has grown to such proportions that the 200-plus billion accounts on MySpace easily make it the fifth largest country (China, India, United States, Indonesia, MySpace) in the world — and growing.

Experts usually caution candidates regarding their participation in any type of social networking. As an example, a search within MySpace for individuals associated with a university resulted in several names, one of which contained many pictures. Some of those pictures were placed by the individual, and some were placed by his or her friends.

One of the pictures might cause prospective employers to overlook this candidate. It contained a picture of the candidate sitting next to a darling little boy. Both were sitting behind a small round bar table, full of empty pitchers, glasses and two full glasses of beer — one in front of each of them. The picture was posted by a "friend" and can only be removed by the "friend." The website is open and not password protected.

Even if an account is by invitation only (for Facebook you must be invited and listed on a person's "friends" list to access their account), authorities make it clear that there are ways to get around the invitation-only block. For example, the perpetrator scans until he finds friends who have open accounts and reads their postings. If you have shared on their site, then at least half of a conversation is visible for the world to see. Information can thus be obtained and manipulated.

The general consensus is: Don't have a social networking account. Even password protection is never totally protected. Making statements about issues on blogs or listservs also might be damaging to your reputation.

Blogging, listservs and other forms of online conversations are becoming a typical venue for superintendents to share ideas. Stop and carefully consider what you are writing. You may have strong feelings about the issue today, but could it come back to "haunt" you in later years? For example, you write lengthy thoughts on the power of small rural schools and later find yourself applying for positions in larger urban/suburban districts.

School board members also might want to resist commenting on blogs and listservs, although board members usually find themselves on the receiving end rather than the giving end when it comes to comments about the school district. Board members may want to use the following list as well for examples of what not to do when it comes to their e-image:

1. Do not assume that there is nothing out there for the world to see that is harmful. Ignorance is not an excuse.

2. Do not assume that searching your identity on one search engine will cover them all. Each search engine has a unique manner in which it completes its search. You should conduct a monthly search of your name on Google, MSN, Yahoo, AltaVista and others of which you are aware.

3. Do not assume that potential employers will know the difference between one Donna McCaw and another Donna McCaw. If you discover on your search that someone with the same name as you has some questionable information on-line — immediately contact the search firm and/or anyone else you are working with to make sure that they know that person is NOT you.

4. Do not post information on public — and maybe not so public — Web sites, blogs, wikis or social networks. Even if your site is password protected and/or by invitation only, others on your invitation list might not be so secure. Therefore the public might actually be able to access information about you through them.

5. Do not assume that what your "friends" might find funny and entertaining about you others will view with similar joy and happiness. Remember the story of the child with the beer in front of him. We are sure that the young man's MySpace account friends thought it was funny but many others would view it as an example of poor judgment. The viewer doesn't know anything but the story told by the picture — which of course is subjective. Do not think that just because a website is shut down or deleted that it is truly gone. Sites like WayBack Machine and Find Old Web Pages make it easy to retrieve Internet sites that "no longer exist."

There is much that is good about the Internet, including the ability to open up a world of information, knowledge and opportunities to all who have access to it. But the Internet also requires intelligent use and routine monitoring, neither of which are optional activities for 21st century school officials.

What does your e-image say about you? Remember, you can't assume anything — it is, after all, your reputation.

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