London Mayor Joe Fontana recently made headlines after addressing thousands of Western University frosh with some colourful language. One student (whose statement resembled numerous tweets from fellow frosh) told The London Free Press that Fontana quipped, "Your school president is going to tell you to work hard, but I say that's bullshit," adding, "If you're in trouble, call the police, but if you're having fun, call me, 'cause I wanna join."

Fontana responded, "If I would have went up there, and I would have started to lecture them, you know what? They would have started to hiss, boo and tune me out. They appreciated, one, that the mayor even came out ... to say, 'Hey, welcome to the greatest city in Canada' ... and yes, certain people may say it's all about studying. I went to university, too, and people like to have fun."

Fontana's right. There is much more to attending college or university than just hitting the books. In fact, you will learn almost as much about your chosen career through researching and networking outside of the classroom as you will during any lecture or late-night study session. And when you're ready to chill after a week of classes, it is important to indulge in some serious fun.

Of course, it is understood that the local pubs beckon. I'll never forget as a second-year student partying into the wee hours of the morning with my classmates (first mistake), catching an hour's sleep (second mistake), then stepping into the broadcast booth Saturday morning to read the 7 a.m. news (third mistake). No surprise, the Monday morning critique with my professor wasn't pretty.

I don't need to preach the 'everything in moderation' spiel, nor lecture about proper student conduct. But it doesn't hurt to offer a few reminders about branding yourself as a serious student seeking credibility, and eventually a serious job.

Most of us have a Facebook and Twitter page. Now is the time to ensure neither of those pages is going to tarnish your image in the eyes of prospective employers. You may think because you are still a college student that it's too early to rid your Facebook page of those outrageous photos from your last weekend at the cottage (who knew you could jump off a Muskoka chair with a beer in each hand?), but it's not. And if you think off-colour comments tweeted to your followers is all in good fun, think again. Just recently a coach with a local Junior B hockey club was suspended for allegedly posting an anti-Semitic comment on his now-deleted Twitter account. The coach denied posting the comment.

One of the first things many prospective employers do when considering applicants for an advertised position is research via Facebook and Twitter. In fact, if you go to a networking event attended by employers and colleagues who take an interest in you, they just might creep you on the Internet. But it's not creeping when a highly respected firm is protecting its credibility during the hiring process or when interested in forming a business relationship. In business, image is a big deal.

The easiest way to guard your own online credibility is, of course, to block anyone but family and friends from viewing your pages. But if your online identity is an open book, make sure that your worldwide presence is a professional one. And what about blogs and fullydeveloped websites? In most cases, blogs offer unedited opinions on an endless number of topics. It's important, then, to stand by your opinions: think before you post your thoughts on how poorly the bus driver navigated rush hour traffic while nearly hitting a bicyclist — especially if you hope to obtain an internship with the London Transit Commission.

The same holds true for website postings. At my golf website, LondonOntarioGolf.com, not only do I need to follow rules and regulations when posting an opinion column, but I also must be careful what news releases from outside sources I decide to upload for my viewers. It all boils down to credibility.

You'll make many friends within the classroom, but you'll initiate many more relationships when you're not working hard. Just make sure you call the Mayor to join in on the fun. And if you post those party photos online, remember: Big Brother is watching. Credibility is everything.

Award-winning journalist Jeffrey Reed is a Fanshawe College professor with the Corporate Communication and Public Relations post-graduate program and an instructor with Fanshawe's Continuing Education department. E-mail him at jreed@fanshawec.ca.