Employers Researching Employees Online

There was another thread that kinda got me thinking.

How many employers are checking google/facebook/youtube/myspace/etc for perspective employees names while they are making hiring decisions?

What about checking to see if people are using the company's name, either to support it, or share information that shouldn't have been shared? (Insider trading, trade secrets, other secretive items, just general talk about how they like it...etc.)

I don't *really* care if my employer is checking up on me online...I know that there are a few fellow employees, as well as people higher in the food chain than me that frequent the same websites I visit. I also know that there are people higher up than me that have checked my facebook page. I obviously don't speak poorly of them, I do enjoy my work there, but I also have been careful to avoid saying who I work for, other than an electronics company. That said, if you're good with google, you could fairly easily figure out what company I work for...

Just curious as to what your thoughts/opinions/experiences are as to employers using the internet to 'check up' on employees?

I believe that any employer who doesn't do a quick internet search for employees is too stupid to work for.

Long ago, during the dot.com boom, I worked at a company that hired
Jamie Edelkind
Granted, that page was not there then, but it exists so no one else will hire this bozo.

So he's a sleaze ball and a swindler. He wasn't successful with his CD identification scheme, no one hits home runs all the time. But is he overall technically incompetent?