I think it depends on what you're being hired for. If you're going to work flipping burgers at Five Guys, it probably doesn't matter if you have pictures of your tattoos or baudy poems you've written on MySpace. However, if you're applying for a job as an assistant district attorney or a financial analyst, then your potential employer has an obligation to screen out inappropriate candidates.

Employers often make a BIG investment when hiring new employees. In some cases, it can literally cost $10,000 to recruit and sign a new employee. Any employer needs to do "due diligence" when spending that kind of money. If they have two candidates with similar backgrounds but one of them has pierced nipples, goes to goth trance events and picks up girls at Miley Cyrus concerts, which would you hire? Investigators paid to look into the backgrounds of potential employees must find MySpace and Facebook quite the feast.

The bottom line really is: If you don't want people to know about it, keep your mouth shut and your fingers off the keyboard.

--Bob