If your job doesn’t revolve around finding things on the Internet, then you probably think it’s a pretty friendly place. Sure you’ll occasionally  get an NFSW photo sent to you at a really bad time (Hello Grandma, that is not my friend’s penis coming up your computer, nope, not at all.). And yes, sometimes you’ll see an offensive Facebook status pop up on your newsfeed. But for the most part, you think the interwebs are a wonderful place to find hidden treasures, hilarious photos and the next Rebecca Black.

However if you work on the web, then you know it’s a dangerous place full of horrific images that have you constantly just saying WTF over and over again until it’s the only thought that’s ever in your head.

Want to get a little peek at what we see everyday?! Check it out below.

We live in a social media obsessed world. There’s Facebook, Myspace, (although I wonder if anyone actually still uses it), Twitter, and many blogging platforms such as Tumblr, WordPress, and Blogger. Although we upload our pictures to Flickr and Facebook all the time or write about our weekend experiences in personal blogs, there could be a possible downside to all of this internet exposure: According to the Wall Street Journal, 85% of hiring managers Google a candidate before or after an interview. This fact, which is becoming more and more well-known, brings up the question: To blog or not to blog?

While I’m not saying that anyone who publicly posts pictures of themselves puking into a fraternity bathroom shouldn’t be a cause for concern, I am posing the question of boundaries and what and when a company should base their decision on hiring someone because of what comes up when they use Google. For example, take all the CollegeCandy contributors. Should our future bosses decline an interview with us, even though our resumes may be well qualified, simply because we once wrote an article that mentions sex or highlights the importance of birth control?

Personally, I think keeping a blog of any kind is a worthwhile venture. As a writer, I like to post things I’m interested in, things that drive me crazy, and of course, continuously write about things that matter to me (this includes everything from literary theory criticisms to the correct usage of the Real Housewives of New Jersey’s infamous phrase “prostitution whore”). However, I often worry that if I post liberal-sided articles or a picture of me enjoying a glass of wine that someone may use those things against me and blow them out of proportion one day. Despite more and more social media outlets being introduced to society on a regular basis, it seems like the idea of censorship or hiding oneself (at least the internet brand of oneself) is becoming a constant battle. Read More »

"Tard pills? Hilarious!"

As every CollegeCandy writer knows, blog commenters can be brutal. Like, kill your self-esteem and make you question everything you’ve ever written brutal. People who you have never met will take the time to dissect your blog and tear it apart sentence by sentence. No typo goes unnoticed and no opinion goes unbashed.

I’m writing for four different blogs now so half my day is consumed with writing them and the other half is spent reading comments filled with racial slurs, homophobic comments, and sentences written in all CAPS. Nothing says “I hate the way you blog about puppies,” like a 6 paragraph comment written in caps and exclamation marks. Sometimes there are so many asterisks in a single word that I can’t even figure out what kind of motherf***ing***tard I am.

I’ve gotten so used to the negative comments that I’ve begun to crave them. It’s kinda like how many people will tell me today that I’m clearly writing from my mom’s basement (I wish…talk about cheap rent and endless things to talk about in therapy). And how many middle-aged men with usernames like DildoMongoDemento can tell me I “forgot to take my retard pills.” Note: If it was true that I forgot to take these so-called retard pills, it would be pretty amazing that I was able to successfully blog and post. Like I am Sam-meets-Forrest-Gump amazing. Read More »

I reuse Ziploc bags, I pay for my coffee with pennies, and all my jeans have holes in the crotch. I don’t pay for anything that I don’t desperately need. So even though I’ve been asked for my business card several times, I never shelled out the money to get them made. I will regret that decision for the rest of my life.

Last week CollegeCandy got invited to a Barenaked Ladies listening party and I gladly accepted the invite. I haven’t listened to new music since 1999 so they really hit the spot for me. I didn’t really know what a listening party entailed, but it sounded a lot more fun than sitting around watching Nanny reruns and eating a bag of chocolate chips. Read More »

OMG. What do I do? What do I do? What do I do?!

Well I passed another major milestone in becoming an adult this week. No I didn’t learn how to file taxes and, hell no, I did not stop leaving candles burning when I left the apartment. Instead I experienced my first authentic stress-induced heart attack. Talk about being a grown-up!

I have a night routine where I check my various blogs, respond to offensive comments, and then snuggle under my covers and watch the TV shows that I’m too embarrassed to watch in front of my roommate, Gena. Let’s just say you can find a lot of classic Grace Under Fire episodes on Youtube if you search long  enough — also helps if you can read Japanese subtitles.

So I was checking my very last blog when I noticed there was a huge.problem. Like the entire blog had crashed problem. I’ve been writing for a start-up company which means they don’t have a lot of money (I’m paid in shiny pennies and expired food stamps). I serve as their blog editor, computer technician, and cleaning lady.

I signed on for the computer technician role because, after living with my grandparents for six months, I got pretty cocky about my computer skills. Then again, their problems were usually of the “how do we turn on the computer and how do we make the font even bigger?” variety. I have no f-ing idea how to fix a crashed blog. Truth be told my web skills pretty much consist of Googling my own name and seeing what life-threatening disease I have on WedMd. Sidenote: who knew the common cold, pregnancy, and brain cancer had so many symptoms in common? Read More »

Wait...you do WHAT for a living?

Thanksgiving gets increasingly more stressful for me every single year. If I’m not having nightmares about the stuffing running out before it gets passed to me, then I’m biting my nails over the fact that I’ll have to explain my career to my family sixteen times. And let’s not even get started on the fact that I’ve misplaced my expandable waistband jeans and turkey-print mumu. There’s no way I’m sitting down at that table wearing anything else. The last thing I can afford is a busted pair of pants with no buttons and a broken zipper.

I’m pretty sure my own parents can’t figure out exactly how blogging works or how I’m making money — so I have no idea how to even explain it to my grandmother. For years I thought she was computer literate, but it sadly turns out she was convinced that the Windows Paint program was actually the Internet. It certainly explains why she was adamant that my e-mails were never getting to her, but it will also make explaining blogging to her quite the challenge. Perhaps my best bet is to just replace her entire World Book 1965 collection with book covers that say “by Jenni” and tell her that I’ve been writing outdated encyclopedias since graduation.

Even worse than having to explain blogging to a 176-year-old (give or take a few decades) is having to beat around the bush when my younger relatives actually ask to see the blogs. While I’m writing for six different blogs, there is not one that’s appropriate for family members to see. If I’m not writing about one-night stands or pee pranks, then I’m giving advice to elderly men on how to date financially desperate women. And I’ve just ruled out showing this one because I know someone will tattle on me to my grandmother, which means a month from now when my siblings are opening up Chanukah envelopes with crisp 10 dollar bills, I’ll be opening a package marked hazardous that’s filled with my grandmother’s old dentures.

My anxiety ulcers aren’t just coming from having to explain my blogging career, but also from having to spend time with my extended family. When I was little, cramming 12 cousins into 2 beds seemed like a fun challenge. But now that everyone’s grown up (and gained weight) it’s more like every man for himself — if you don’t get a bed or a couch, make yourself cozy under the kitchen table. And beds are nothing compared to the fight over the remote. So help me god if anyone thinks they’re watching anything besides 30 Rock on Thursday night.

For a second I thought that maybe I was overdoing the stress and exaggerating the whole situation. But then my mom just called and gave me the annual lecture about not going out of my way to make my sister cry this year and I realized that I might be better off spending the holiday in my apt — TV remote and bed to myself.

Got something awesome everyone needs to know about? Email your “The Know” ideas to Jill@collegecandy.com and I’ll pass them along to everyone right here, right now.

Well, not right now, but soon. Like, every Thursday.

Rachel Paula:
Every now and again a blog comes along that you just. can’t. stop. reading. Before you know it, it’s 4am and you’ve read every entry. TWICE. Your midterm paper sure as hell isn’t going to write itself, but, hey, it was worth it.

That’s how I feel about Rachel Paula. A single girl tackling the big-bad-real-world in the biggest, baddest more real worldest place of all: New York City. But for entries of glitz, glamor and fabulousity, you will need to look elsewhere. While the blogger herself reeks of fabulousity, it’s because she is so candid, funny and, for once, honest about life and love in the big city. You will laugh, you will cry and you will feel like you want to be her BFF. Read More »

Whew, we haven’t found any awesome new college blogs in awhile. Not because there aren’t any out there, but because we’ve been hella busy with midterms, planning for Spring Break (board games with the parents?) and, obviously, watching The Bachelor.But now that Jason has made his choice (and then changed his mind), we’ve got some extra time in our hands. And we found quite a few awesome blogs to fill it. We’re pretty sure you’ll love ‘em too.

Miss Random Bliss: The name pretty much sums it all up. This blog is about everything and our inner ADD child loves it.

LOLSam: He’s a cool kid just writing about life and it’s entertaining and fun to follow. If we knew this kid in real life, we’d probably hug him.

Flying Saucer: Not only is this blog beautiful, but this girl knows fashion and knows how to write it. We just really love reading what she has to say. Especially since she’s British and we read it all aloud in a British accent.

Not Just Surviving: Did you know there are people out there who go to college merely to survive? What? They don’t love it to bits and never want to leave? Well, this blog helps them (and the rest of us sane people) enjoy college a little more and get the most from it. Fab.u.lous.

College Chic: It’s cute, it helps our wardrobes, and it’s just for us. Love it.

In the old days, if someone ruined your reputation by spreading false information about you, you could sue them for defamation of character. Since the internet came about, however, finding those people who say horrible things about you is not always as easy.

Blogs, websites, Facebook profiles, etc. give everyone with an internet connection the ability to create their own stories and share them with the world. And they can do so without ever telling anyone their name. It happens on Juicy Campus every day, and on other sites all across the internet.

So what do you do when someone starts spreading rumors about you online?

Liskula Cohen, a model in New York, decided to fight back after one blogger anonymously called her a skank and an old hag. (Editor’s Note: Seriously? This woman is smoking!) Since she doesn’t know who it was, Cohen has decided to sue Google, the owner of the blogging site the comment was posted on.

Sure, it sucks when people call you a skank (welcome to my life as a CC blogger), but isn’t a lawsuit a bit much? It’s not like being a skank will prevent her from futhering her career, or that anyone is taking this blogger seriously. Plus, think about what could happen if Cohen wins; this could change the face of the internet and freedom of speech forever.

What do you think? Is Cohen justified, or is she just a bitter skank?

With less than three weeks before we welcome 2009, now is the time to do everything you said you would do in 2008. And if any of those plans go awry? You can start off with a clean slate in under 30 days. Now is the time to carpe diem, my friends, so see 2008 out with a bang.

1) Get a jump start on your New Year’s resolution. It’ll make January 1 so much less painful. Dead set on losing weight? Start out each day with a mere 20 minutes of cardio. You’ll lose a couple of pounds before the big par-tay and be motivated to keep toning up throughout January (and beyond). Want to quit smoking? Cut down now. Cold Turkey will be easier when you’ve already cut a pack-a-day habit down to 2 or 3 nicotine sticks.

2) Ask out that hottie from lab. What do you have to lose? The semester’s almost over anyway. And if he’s interested, you might have your New Year’s kiss all lined up. Read More »