After Graduation: Check Yourself

Last year around this time I read an article in the New York Times about graduating senior Tien Nguyen (Note: See BugMeNot for access) who was "smokin' blunts" on Facebook and "lying his way to the top" on Google.

When a small consulting company in Chicago was looking to hire a summer intern this month, the company's president went online to check on a promising candidate who had just graduated from the University of Illinois.

At Facebook, a popular social networking site, the executive found the candidate's Web page with this description of his interests: "smokin' blunts" (cigars hollowed out and stuffed with marijuana), shooting people and obsessive sex, all described in vivid slang.

It did not matter that the student was clearly posturing. He was done.

"I never really considered that employers would do something like that," [Nguyen] said. "I thought they would just look at your résumé and grades."

Yep, this is for reals, kids. Scary stuff. Employers look at your Facebook, and they'll Google your name. But, not all is lost. Read on for a few tips on (1) Cleaning up your Facebook --or at least making it private and (2) Keeping track of what Google has to say about you.

Step 1. Clean up or keep 'em out.
My easy question has always been, "Do I want my parents seeing this?" If not, a future employer doesn't want to either. Get rid of the alcohol and drugs and get rid of the sexual commentary.

• Go through your photo albums and check "delete".


• Go through your Wall-to-Walls and click "delete".


• Go through your groups and click "leave".


• And go through your profile.

Harsh, I know. The only other way is to be paranoid and keep everyone out by using the privacy settings. InternetDuctTape.com has a good guide for that.

Step 2. Google yourself and see what they see.
I have a confession to make. Even I do this once in a while. I Google myself, sure, but I've also Google-ed my dates, haha.

Go to Google and type in "FirstName LastName" --with the quotation marks. If your name is shared with a couple hundred people, you probably don't have anything to worry about. It's too muddled. If you've got a unique name, do you like what you see? If not, contact the particular website(s) and try to get your name off. It's worth a try.

Step 3. Keep it up.
On Facebook, instead of posting those drinking pictures, why not just send an email? Instead of making that sexual reference, why not send a private message?

On Google, you can sign up for Google Alerts that will email you each time another hit comes up for your search term.

And that's all I've got. Any other tips?

Quick Read: Colleges Using GMail

I just found this interesting article about how colleges are moving their mail servers to the GMail system. I hope American universities follow suit.

CouchSurfing.com: Hostels are Obsolete a.k.a. An Ode to CouchSurfing.com

Hey you. Yes you. Why are you backpacking around Europe and dropping a whole $20 per night on a hostel bed? You sir/madam, are foolish. You could be paying (relatively) nothing for a roof while in Europe or in other parts of the world.

Hello, CouchSurfing.com. Where have you been all of my life? Why are you so handy although your interface reminds me of a website 5 years ago? Regardless, your innards and offerings are more expansive than a red light girl in Amsterdam. You promise to help me find a place to stay, no matter where I am in the world.

Your prices are so nice, as in free. You encourage your users to donate $25 to prove your worth and to project the idea that we will not abuse the system. Your eBay-esque rating system ensures that I will always trust the person(s) I am staying with. I am so excited to be able to host travelers-by once I have my own place. How is it that you make couch communism so appealing? I thought sentiments of the red couch scare still exited? You puzzle me, CouchSurfing.com.

CouchSurfing.com, you really are a dream come true.

Stop paying for hostels and meet the locals: CouchSurfing.com

How To Make a Paper Wallet

Good for boys and girls of all ages. Because a paper wallet is totally hipster.

You'll need:

• A Printer


• Ink


• Photo Paper


• Scissors


• Tape

First, check out iPaperCraft's .pdf generator. There, you can generate a custom print-out for your wallet. I just like to show off family pictures on mine, but there's also room for custom text (e.g. I heart HackCollege!). I recommend printing on photo paper because it's a bit thicker than regular print paper. It's also nice and shiny.

Second, follow the instructions posted at Instructables. These are very easy to follow, complete with pictures and comments. I recommend taping up the sides if you're not going to use the second credit card compartments.

And if a paper wallet isn't enough for you, CollegeHumor recently linked to other forms of origami. Interesting.

--ROSARIO DORIOTT absolutely loves her paper wallet.

MapMyRun.com: Student Runner 2.0

I'm not the most computer savvy kid on the block, but Web 2.0 still plays into my life. I love it when I can think, "Wouldn't it be great if there was a site/program that could help me do [whatnot]?"... A few minutes on Google, and sometimes I find what I hoped for.

This was the case when I discovered MapMyRun about a year ago. It does exactly that: it helps you map out running loops, so that distances are no longer a mystery. Kelly mentioned it here, (upon my valuable recommendation) but back then, the site had just the essentials. I checked up on it the other day to find that an update has made it the dream-site for runners, hikers, bikers, equestrians, skateboarders, dogwalkers -- you get the point.

The newest features are a new look and a Training Log that helps you keep track of miles, calories and even sleep. Just go to the site (use FireFox) and after a little exploring, you'll see why this site is so dang cool. But I thought I'd offer a little more insight for the ultimate student 2.0.

Looking for Loops

Though MapMyRun gives you an automatic "Out and Back" mapping option, most runners want a complete loop so that scenery is constantly changing. One of the main virtues of MapMyRun is how easy it makes loop-finding. Turn on the satellite or hybrid map and venture off the beaten path. I found gravel service routes, abandoned railroads and paths carved out by dirt bikes and ATVs in my area -- which you could easily do with Google Maps -- but MapMyRun lets you measure these distances. And for those who stick to the main roads, a new "Follow Roads" option (left toolbar) makes mapping a little quicker than it used to be.

Keywords

When you create a route to share with the public, you can tag them with keywords that denote everything from the quality of the pathway to the elevation changes, but you can also write your own keywords. Tag your runs with your school's name and abbreviations. This will make it easier for other students to find relevant runs. That way, I won't have to weed through all of the runs in Los Angeles just to find ones in my school's burrow.

Google Mapplets

Google Mapplets are another way to find local runs -- not to mention, the new feature hasn't quite been released to the public. It's a new third party API. Think of it like a Facebook Application for Google Maps. It's a little confusing to setup, so here's a play-by-play:

1) Go to maps.google.com/preview. Make sure you're under the "Mapplets" tab.
2) Click "Add Content".
3) Click "Add by URL" (to the right of the "Search Google Maps Content" button).
4) Enter http://mapmyrun.com/runfinder.xml into the space provided and click "Add".
5) Return to maps.google.com/preview and check the box next to your new Mapplet, "MapMyRun.com Run Finder".

The Mapplet itself is self-explanatory. Center Google Maps on your location by entering an address into the top field and the Mapplet will show you the most viewed, highest rated and most recently added runs within a certain radius. The Mapplet points out the starting area and brings you to a map of the route via the link inside a pop-up bubble.

Improve Facebook with Scripts

Facebook has been on fire lately - due mostly to the release of the new Facebook platform. It seems as though new applications are developed every day. But before there was the Facebook platform, users could add new functionality to Facebook through the use of scripts and Greasemonkey. Below are some of my favorite scripts to enhance your Facebook experience.

NOTE: To use any of these scripts you must be using Firefox and have the Greasemonkey extension installed. Download Greasemonkey here.

• Facebook Fixer - Adds recently added, updated and online friends sections on the main menu, Enlarges profile pictures when hovering over them, adds links to view all friends, groups, notes and items on profiles, and more.

• Facebook News Feed Ad Nuker - Simply removes all the "sponsored" ads from Facebook's News Feed.

• Facebook Autologin v2 - Will automatically login to your Facebook account as long as your password is stored in Firefox.

• View Photo in Album - This will add a link above photos to view them within their albums, and it works even if your not the person's friend.

• Facebook Auto-Colorizer - Changes Facebook's color scheme based on the profile picture.

There are tons of other scripts to customize Facebook and other websites at Userscripts.org.

Use another awesome Facebook script? Leave us a comment!

WikiTravel.org: The travel guide of the future

I had trouble sleeping the other night because I convinced myself that I had come up with a great new idea for a website, a wiki-driven travel guide. Much to my dismay, I soon discovered the idea had already been implemented. WikiTravel.org won the 2007 Webby award for the best travel site. And with good reason.

If you are familiar with Wikipedia, you already know WikiTravel.org. Any user can edit the travel page for any city or any country.

WikiTravel has helped me while travelling to Bonn, Dusseldorf, and Munich in Germany. I'll be using it to check out the best places to go for Amsterdam.

Unfortunately, most of the night life sections for cities are missing. If you think about it, I guess that's our generation's fault. Time to get to work.

Get your summer travel on: WikiTravel.org

How To: Beer Camouflage

I am, indeed, narcissistic enough to Google myself. The other day, I found that my sixth hit or so is an old article that Kelly and I wrote.

It's about disguising a beer can, thereby averting the wrath of policemen, MADD members and other authoritarian ageists. Hence, it is worthwhile for the average student, even during the summer.

You can download the PDFs on the LA Loyolan website or try to read it below.