It's by definiteion, not private if it's on the interweb Potential employees should take note of that.

I think publicly accessible information is fair game. You may 'stumble' across information just as easily in the course of your daily surfing habits. There are two sides to this and I think most feel negative information will be discovered. There is always positive information that is favorable to potential employees as well.

It's fair game. It shouldn't be the soul basis of your decision making, just another tool to be used thoughtfully.

People should pay attention to their personal brand. If someone "googles well", meaning the search results are consistent with the person before you, that's a good sign. If someone "googles poorly" meaning inconsistent, or as Ricky Ricardo would say, "Has some 'esplaining' to do", that's okay too. It's how they respond that makes the difference.

Now wire tapping, THAT would be a blantant invasion of privacy.

Absolutely not. It is fair. Creating a bias however about content you might find is not fair game at all.Heck, I just googled my name right now.

You would hate to think that if you are John Doe and there's a few other John Doe's in the world,,,,that may have done "no telling what" that you'd be overlooked because of such potential confusion.

That said, I would consider it a tool. But one used with extreme extreme EXTREME caution.

The FAR LARGER focus SHOULD BE on whether John Doe can do the job or not.

If it appears that John's been at the Fire Island Barn dance or a wet t shirt contest is a likely scenario regardless of who you hire if you dig long enough.

Is any of that gonna keep John from doing his job...is the question.

Fair game, it is part of researching candidates and a neccesary process.

Fair game, because if you're going to hire someone, it's only prudent to do some background checks. In my opinion there's no difference between calling a reference and Googling.

Totally fair game, if you do it carefully -- there are plenty of name doubles out there, and you wouldn't want to believe everything you read. Approach whatever you find on Google with skepticism, and consider whether it would be a faux pas to bring up something you found on Google during the interview. "I discovered you won this award" might be okay; "I found your spring break pictures, and you can sure do a keg stand" might not be.

I think googling is fine, but looking at their facebook and/or myspace (or any similar) is DEFINITLY an invasion, should it affect the hiring process.

I believe it is fair. I have even Googled potential employers before an interview.