Social Media & Social Networking: What is too much?

There has been a lot on my mind lately. Some of it is personal, some is trivial. Here, I will choose to share something that should interest each reader of this blog.

By reading my blog, or any blog, you become part of the social media and social networking world. The social media world is a new and evolving arena at the same time, which means the rules for social media are being created as we speak. Rules that are not set are difficult to follow. Common sense rules apply: create and contribute meaningful conversation, don’t create too much noise, show your personality while keeping your thoughts clean enough that you could tell your mother, etc.

There’s a problem: not everyone has common sense.

As a person that has grown up in the social media and social networking era, I am on facebook, MySpace, twitter, LinkedIn, digg, flickr, I blog for the online marketing blog at work, I blog for personal reasons (as you’re reading right now). There are so many social networking sites out there beyond the list above. It can be difficult to keep track and actively participate in all of the above networks.

For over a year, MySpace has been losing its grip on the top social networking site. Facebook, recently surpassing 225 million users, and twitter growing at a ridiculous rate, show that social networking is here to stay, and you should be a part of all that you can be.  99% of people I know are on Facebook, 90% of people I know are on twitter. I have noticed, based on my ‘top friends’ on MySpace, that people are deleting their MySpace accounts.

This led me to think of a few questions that I need answered by you:

• What would make you quit ‘social media’?
• If you left one site, does that mean the other sites you are on satisfy your needs?
• What is your favorite social networking site? Why?
• What purpose does social media/social networking serve in your life?
• Is there too much social media/social networking?

I look forward to a good discussion with you.

~Jason Douglas

twitter: @jasondouglas

Jason Douglas on LinkedIn

Hot Topic: Maintaining Your Social Media Reputation

This has been a hot topic of conversation of late wherever a conversation can take place.  Blogs, twitter, at work, everywhere.  Two of the main questions asked in this debate:

• How do maintain a good reputation on social media/networking sites?
• Can you or should you blend personal and professional comments?

First, let us discuss twitter:

In recent blog posts, people have been giving phenomenal examples of people destroying their social media reputation.  There’s the FedEx/Ketchum twitter oops that has been a part of conversations.  The culprit in this case chose to share his true feelings about an area which he was visiting; not a wise move (click the link above to learn why).   It is extremely difficult to share your thoughts in 140 characters without the chance of having what you say misconstrued.

This, among other happenings, brought on a debate on whether or not there should be a ‘best practices’ or regulation for twitter use among people at my work.  The argument for regulation: each employee is a representative of the agency, and for each client.  If one of us were to say something deemed offensive by others, it may reflect negatively on the agency, on the clients, and may detract potential clients from dealing with my work.

By regulating what you can or can not say on twitter, are you infringing on the First Amendment: Freedom of Speech?

My proposed solutions: ban twitter at work; or, trust that your employees aren’t idiots.

To answer the questions above for twitter (in my opinion): you build and maintain your reputation by being yourself and using common sense; you can and should combine personal with professional tweets.  It all depends on what you want people to know about you.

Let’s talk facebook and myspace:

I will share a story about my first experience with how what my facebook profile was showing had an impact on what others thought.  During my senior year, I was walking into my market research class.  Knowing I was late, I tried to make a graceful, quiet enterance.  Unfortunately, my seat was in the front row, and hiding myself, a 6’4” hunk of a man, is difficult to do.  My professor stopped her teachings, said ‘hello Jason! Looks like you had a fun weekend…’ which greatly confused me to how she would know what I did over the weekend.  I wasn’t in St. Cloud with any of my classmates; I was back home here in the Twin Cities area.  She then referenced some pictures that were tagged of me on what she called ‘face space’ (meant facebook), and gave me a warning/advice that I’ve used and share when I can:’might want to be careful what you post about yourself, it could cost you a job.’  That night, I de-tagged myself from over 100 photos where I looked blacked out, or was doing something stupid.  To this day, I am very careful about what pictures are taken and tagged of me.

Facebook and myspace are more visual than twitter.  It may not be so much what you say on facebook, but what you allow to be showed.

Why does it matter what you post on twitter or facebook?  These sites, specifically what you put on them, represent who you are whether you like it or not.  Think of yourself as a brand; people only know what they can see.  What your audience can see is how you’ll be seen.

Despite the legal right to post whatever we want, pictures, status updates, pledge our allegiance to a group, team, or politician; it matters to others.  If you have a picture that depicts you in a non-sober state, one may think that you’re priorities are your social life versus your professional life.  If you have numerous pictures that show you holding three shots in one hand, two cigarettes in another hand, and eyes as glossy as can be, you make it easy for someone to come up with 1,000 words to describe who you are based on a picture.

Is this right? No.  Is this reality? Yes.

Some people have created both personal and professional twitter and/or facebook accounts.  Others choose to make their profiles private only to their friends.   This is something that I will never do; I have nothing to hide. In my opinion, if someone makes their profile private, that means there is something worth hiding, something that the person knows should not be public.  We have the power to control exactly what is out there about ourselves.   You can still show you have a party side without looking like you don’t remember the picture you’re in, and still look attractive to an employer, a future boyfriend or girlfriend, etc.

To answer the questions above for facebook/myspace (in my opinion): you build and maintain your reputation by being yourself and using common sense; you can and should combine personal with professional tweets.  It all depends on what you want people to know about you.

Notice how the answers are the same for both twitter and facebook/myspace.  Tips for not being put into social media purgatory:

• be yourself
• be smart
• if your Mom and Dad would be ashamed of  what you’re saying or how you look in a pic, don’t post it

Good luck!

~J

twitter: @jasondouglas