Field Notes Inside an Integrated Communications Agency

There's a line from an old Ben Folds Five song that I've been thinking about lately. "If you're afraid they might discover your redneck past, there are a hundred ways to cover your redneck past." (The name of the song is, of course, Your Redneck Past.)

But if you've tried to raise the collar on that red neck of yours in the digital age, well, good luck. That's what I love and hate about Facebook – except for the issue of digital access, it offers a democratic view of your past. One day you're confirming Enos, that guy from 7th grade who was already starting his first moustache, as your friend, and the next thing you know he's tagging you in photos of you trying to look all tough in your Poison '86 "Look What the Cat Dragged In" tour t-shirt, mud-hogging on your Honda three-wheeler, for all for all 234 of your friends and colleagues to see.

Sure, you can untag yourself in photos. You can adjust your privacy settings. You can even delete friends. But there's always something new around the corner, Facebook, blog or otherwise, working overtime to pull together all the pieces of your life. Especially the ones you'd rather forget. I say embrace it. If that's really who you were, by now it's ancient history, and anyone who knows you today, well, they'll understand. And they'll appreciate your unguarded transparency.

There's a lesson in here for companies, too, but let's save that one for another post. I really need to go untag myself in Dave's "Wrestlemania 88" photo album before my profile updates.