Don't have a personal Web page? You will soon, says
The Wall Street Journal's Jason Fry. In fact, soon, it will be weird if you don't, he claims, as the personal Web page evolves from something
that makes you cool into more of a social obligation. Your personal page will be how people find and keep in touch with you, but it will also be how you defend against rumor and misinformation, Fry
says.
It starts with the demise of the landline and the decline of the cell phone as a means of acceptable communication between people who don't yet know each other very well. While email
and IM will always be fine substitutions, a personal page provides a single point of contact "with additional levels of contact information unlocked by us as we deem appropriate."
Another
large reason for personal pages is the need to defend and define one's own identity online. Because if you don't, others will surely do it for you. As one blogger warns his readers: "The Internet WILL
tell stories about you, true or otherwise. Make sure your own version is out there too." As Fry says, the problem with other people tagging photos of your greatest keg stands isn't so much the keg
stand itself, but rather the lack of opportunity to balance that photo out with a record of your more-lasting accomplishments. "By its nature, the Internet returns piecemeal glimpses of us," Fry
says. "A personal Web page is an opportunity to tell your story and balance out other narratives that you can't control."
Read the whole story at The Wall Street Journal »