Young will have to change names to escape 'cyber past' warns Google's Eric Schmidt

Telegraph ^ | August 18, 2010 | Murray Wardrop

[Second Amendment First]

Eric Schmidt suggested that young people should be entitled to change their identity to escape their misspent youth, which is now recorded in excruciating detail on social networking sites such as Facebook.

"I don't believe society understands what happens when everything is available, knowable and recorded by everyone all the time," Mr Schmidt told the Wall Street Journal.

In an interview Mr Schmidt said he believed that every young person will one day be allowed to change their name to distance themselves from embarrasssing photographs and material stored on their friends' social media sites.

The 55-year-old also predicted that in the future, Google will know so much about its users that the search engine will be able to help them plan their lives.

Using profiles of it customers and tracking their locations through their smart phones, it will be able to provide live updates on their surroundings and inform them of tasks they need to do.

[newheart]

young people should be entitled to change their identity

Seems reasonable. It worked for this guy.

[elpadre]

what's the old saying? something like, “when you make your bed you have to sleep in it!”

[thethirddegree]

Great graphic. Can you make his face black?

[Anti-Bubba182]

Why do kids need to text on cell phones or be on Facebook or similar pages? They must have seen bad stuff happen to others or heard about it.

[jessduntno]

“Live in such a way that you would not be ashamed to sell your parrot to the town gossip.” - Will Rogers.

[newheart]

It’s as black as he is. Compare with a normal Alfred E. pic.

[jessduntno]

“Great graphic. Can you make his face black?”

Or like a regular coffee with not too much milk?

[Tax-chick]

In the United States, people can already change their names when they reach adulthood. Go to the courthouse, pay a fee ...

[GonzoGOP]

Or you could just not screw up your life in the first place. Almost every problem today is caused by people wanting to be excused from the consequences of making bad choices. Unprotected sex - get an abortion. Drop out of high school and render yourself unemployable - go on welfare. Get fat and render yourself uninsurable - pass laws to require other people to pay for your medical care. Buy a house you can't afford - the government will bail you out. GM builds an electric car that they can't sell at the cost of manufacture, the government forces taxpayers to subsidize them.

In the last 24 hours on FR threads i have seen a person refuse to relocate to save his job and then complain when he can't find another one a year later. Another Freeper attacked anyone who dared criticize a man who lived in government subsidized housing for the last 74 years then complained when he was throw out for someone that the government deemed to be more needy. He could have bought the house years ago at 50% market but decided not to.

When will we demand that people take responsibility for the bad choices that they make?
/stepping down off soap box now.

[mainsail that]

On second thought it’s easier to change Google and FB. Give them 6 months to enable people to remove their stuff or face a $1000 fine per day, per user.

[Tribune7]

On second thought it’s easier to change Google and FB.

It's not Google or FB, it's all that permanent record stored on servers throughout the world.

If Google wasn't the search engine there would be some other search engine to find it.

Changing identity isn't a solution either since I suspect it would eventually be easy to connect new ID with old ID.

[Vendome]

Great! Everyone can be a Wraith.

[Celerity]

I was contacted a few years ago by a young woman who was the bass player in a local band. I had made mention of her a few months earlier as “This really hot bass player for _____ who is playing in New Haven”

She then applied for an interview, and her interviewer did an internet search on her: Asking her to defend their google results of her name. She contacted me with several questions, posed by her:
“How do you know me?”
“What do you mean by what you said?”

And I immediately became very interested. She had actually lost the job because of similar comments, and photos of her giving the devil sign at some shows and appearances.

A name change won’t work. I’m thinking of changing my own name (Legally) when it comes time for me to move (We’ll see how November turns out)

[MIchaelTArchangel]

What a bunch of Schmidt!

[Vendome]

Your wish is granted.  You have two left.

 

[mainsail that]

” If Google wasn’t the search engine there would be some other search engine to find it.”

You mean in some rogue country like China or Russia? Because the Western world will eventually HAVE to do it. Google, FB and the likes are the only ones to be able to do it for now, since it takes some effort. A wikileaks type can’t do it, it takes years to gather and keep that info.

[Liberty1970]

Maybe if parents weren’t so derelict in their responsibilities, their children would not spend years as such complete losers doing stupid things. The ‘dump-em-in-school/warehouse/daycare’ crowd has only themselves to blame for this ‘problem.’

[freebilly]

"I actually think most people don't want Google to answer their questions. They want Google to tell them what they should be doing next."

Eric Schmidt is one of the biggest douches on the planet....

[thethirddegree]

Fabulous! Thanks!