"It's the most wonderful time of the year"..

The Staples commercial/ad campaign should be starting shortly (assuming they’re going forward with it again) – the time of year where kids and parents start thinking about school. And for parents who have kids beginning the college admissions process, it will require more than just a trip to the local Staples to get school supplies.

Colleges and Universities are starting to look at applicants’ digital footprint as part of the admissions process. This should come as no surprise – the corporate world has been doing this for years, with an emphasis on LinkedIn, along with the social media sites and even plain old Google search.

While there is debate about the usefulness (and in some circles ethics) of reviewing an applicants Facebook feed, the fact is that our kids are putting more about themselves for all the world to see. We as parents (should?) understand the pros and cons of this, particularly when it comes to the image, and yes branding, whatever is posted conveys. The discussion of whether is right or wrong for colleges (or employers for that matter) to use an applicants LinkedIn or Facebook profile/pages as part of the selection criteria isn’t the point – the fact is those pages are out there and available.

Years ago, someone once told me that when I send an email, the content should be such that if it were published on the front page of the New York Times, I’d be ok with it. The spirit of that advice is also applicable to our kids’ digital footprint.

So what does this have to do with photography? More on that in a future blog (you’ve probably already figured out the relationship) – but for now, when the Staples commercial starts playing we should be thinking about more than school supplies.