With all the discussion about Social Networking, specifically Facebook and Twitter, how do you keep your interactions and information sharing professional?
The stories about new college graduates’ Facebook pages coming back to haunt them in their job search, is a topic that we as professionals also need to pay attention to. How much sharing is too much? What are the “rules” or etiquette we need to follow? That’s the focus of a PC World article I recently read.
A primary point in the article focuses on the question of “what type of interaction are you using the media for?” Is it for personal connections or professional? There are different ways that you handle how and what you share depending on to whom you are sharing. Think about your face-to-face interactions. Do you share the same kinds of info with professional colleagues that you do with your friends and family? Hopefully, the response is a vehement “No!” If not, you may want to rethink that practice… I just saying!
The article walks you through setting up your privacy profile within Facebook and specifics on etiquette to consider. Who should you friend? How often do you update your information? How many friends? Remember it is not a competition but a vehicle for interaction.
Twitter etiquette is also discussed. Some of the strongest messages in the article are found in the disaster scenarios. Do you really want to tweet your every thought or move? Remember Twitter is more open than Facebook. Anyone can choose to follow your tweets unless you choose to protect your updates.
Like any online tool, social networking can be amazing, allowing us to connect in ways we never imagined. To make this type of media work for us, it’s worth the time to think through the process of our interactions and reasons for connecting.
