No personal identifyng information---huh?

Nurses General Nursing

Published

Specializes in Occupational Health; Adult ICU.

I often see people saying: give no personal identifying information.

Yet allnurses.com has a space for linkedin.com and linkedin.com uses real names, and often real addresses and even phone numbers.

Mine does, if anyone wants to know my name, where I work and my email it's right there, just use the allnurses link to my linkedin profile.

Having personally identifiable information does make a person think twice about appropriate posting. I think that's a good thing.

So what's up with this? Give no identifying information or give identifiable information and perhaps find real people to network with? Or remain anonymous --- forever.

What do you think?

Specializes in CCRN.

I say it's up to you and how you want to use the site. If you don't mind being linked to your real information, go for it and see if you can network with others. If you prefer to keep some anonymity, don't link your accounts together.

I prefer to keep mine separate.

Specializes in NICU.

I try to always be conscious of not posting anything truly inappropriate. However, sometimes I need to just vent about work, or get an unbiased opinion on something, and thus I wouldn't want to be identifiable.

I put the info I want out there in my personal profile on any site where I participate. If people want to sleuth or conjecture or gossip about me, they can have at it. But I don't go out of my way to provide any more information than I want to divulge. Personal information is for the private message function on various sites. One of the major reasons why I stay completely away from FB, LinkedIn, and such. And I do not engage in personal information exchange on the open site. That is respecting the other party's right to personal privacy.

Can't get much more personally identifying than a photo! ;)

I've always believed that it's a mistake to use one's personal photo as an avatar. Unless, of course, you are 100% certain that you wil never post a comment or remark that could possibly taken the wrong way by an HR department, unit manager, co-workers, subordinates, etc etc.....

I have learned from years on this site that even an appropriate comment or viewpoint, presented in a perfectly appropriate manner, can cause someone to react inappropriately, negatively. It's times like that I'm glad they don't know what I look like ;)

Specializes in Nephrology, Cardiology, ER, ICU.

Good points from all of you. AN ALLOWS you to place links to LinkedIn, FB, and other social media as a way of staying connected. However, as we always say too; its better to be cautious when putting too much info "out there."

Employers, ex's, friends, and everyone have access to a lot of personal info nowadays.

Put out what you feel comfortable with and happy posting.

Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.

As always, some people have a higher comfort level than others when it comes to sharing personal details.

I live my online life by the following mantra: "Any reasonably intelligent person can put two and two together to figure out it's you." Thus, I post with the assumption that blanket anonymity is not one of life's guarantees.

However, I will, along with others, make comments about a post that seems to be the work of a troll. Putting two and two together does not give me courtesy boundary overstepping privileges otherwise. There is no reason to speak about a specific member in front of them in a thread where that member has already made their presence known. I particularly pay attention to observing courtesy toward other members in my site staff roles on many sites. When members see that members of staff do not follow common courtesies, they rightfully question why they have to follow those rules themselves, published as TOS or by observing common convention.

I keep it separate. I am friends in Real Life with someone on the School Nurses board...that I know of. I may know more of you. Or you may know me...

+ Add a Comment