Or this blog, or Twitter, or an email I send, or, or?

One thing about all of the new forms of communication, publishing, and sharing available to anyone at pretty much any time is that there is a need for a new consciousness about what you share and how.  This is a pretty tall order regardless of age because what may have seemed appropriate at one moment in time may be less so at another.  As it has become easier and easier to share status or text quick thoughts, there needs to be an equal increase in consciousness about what is shared as some things are best kept to yourself.  The trick is to know what they are.

The concept of the personal brand is an important one.  Through our electronic sharing, we are promoting and positioning ourselves to our friends, our contacts, even the world.  Like all products, you highlight the positives and (mostly) avoid the negatives.  Regardless of whether you have ever thought about it in this way or not, I would recommend a bit of a filter between your brain and your keyboard.  Not everything that crosses your mind needs to be (or should be) shared.  This doesn't mean you shouldn't be authentic but you should think about what you are making part of the permanent electronic narrative about yourself.

Blogging drives this awareness in me and I attempt to share all I can but I don't share everything.  My litmus test for a post or a status update is to fast forward to a time when my daughters are old enough to read and care what I had to say (not the same age, I suppose) and think about their reaction.  This blog serves as a journal of sorts that documents my (ad)ventures, thoughts, and musings and I am excited about having it for them.  I am still learning and understanding my parent's life stories and I have known them for a very long time so hopefully this will be a bit of a primer for my girls.

As Seth Godin points out, Google never forgets.  Indeed, Google never forgets…