That's N.A. Poe, a Philadelphia sandwich shop owner, reflecting on the online persona he says just cost him a nearly seven-year business relationship with Human Robot Brewery.
For years, Poe has cultivated an internet presence designed to provoke - irreverent memes, offensive jokes, pot smoking, political commentary, and, in his words, "raging against the machine." He says he's just trying to entertain himself and "tickle the algorithm."
Then came a particularly crude meme involving another Philadelphia bar owner, an Irishman, and a potato.
Poe says it was the straw that broke the camel's back. Human Robot ended the relationship.
There's a lesson here for anyone who has ever posted something online and thought, "It's just a joke," "It's my personal account," or "That's not who I really am."
In today's internet-driven world, you are what you post.
The boundary between personal expression and professional identity has collapsed. Your LinkedIn lists your employer. Your coworkers follow you on Instagram. Customers find you on Facebook. And screenshots move faster than explanations ever can.
The internet also does not forget.
Yes, people have private lives. Yes, they have opinions. And yes, in some cases, labor law protects certain forms of off-duty speech and activity. But free speech is not the same as immunity from consequences in private employment. Employers are generally not required to retain someone whose public behavior they believe harms their business.
At the same time, this isn't an argument for constant surveillance or punishment over every bad joke or unpopular take. Overreaction can be just as damaging as indifference.
The reality is simpler: anything posted online is potentially public. Not just to friends or followers, but to employers, customers, and future opportunities.
Poe describes his online presence as a character—an exaggerated version of himself meant to entertain, provoke, and gain "likes." He argues that people who know him personally understand the difference between the online persona and the real person.
Maybe they do. But the internet does not make that distinction.
To most people scrolling past a post, there is no separation between the performance and the person behind it. There is only what they see.
And what they see is what they believe. That's the risk—and the reality—of living online.
You are what you post.