The Art of Social Networking (Professionally)

We’ve all heard it a thousand times, “be careful what you put online.” We hear that, acknowledge the merit of that advice and store that information deep within the recesses of our minds. “It’s common sense,” we think, and don’t give it a second thought. But too many times, I’ve read a tweet or a facebook status update that makes me do a double take. “Did she really post that?” I’ll think. “Does he realize that the world can see that?” So here is my advice on behaving professionally while online…

First, we tend to tweet, comment, and write wall posts like we talk. The problem is that sarcasm and inflection don’t translate technologically. No number of “winky” faces or “smiley” faces can make a mean sentence read as sarcastic and funny over the internet. So my advice is to save those witty, sarcastic comments for in-person interactions—therefore, allowing the recipient to punch you if you’re so deserving (Apparently, I need to take my own advice).

Secondly, your facebook profile and your tweets are an image of yourself that you present to the world. No matter how many safety and security measures you implement that information is still out “there” and you can’t get it back. Think of it this way, (if you’re like me) you spend lots of time and even more money making yourself look good—nice clothes, haircuts, lots and lots of shoes (oh, you don’t? Weird). Why go through all that trouble if you are going to post things online that make you look uneducated, immature, and just generally, bad? So just don’t do it—go shoe shopping instead (or whatever it is that makes YOU happy).

Finally, I want to end this post with a story. Once, a friend of a friend (yes, one of those stories) went in for a job interview. While in the interview, the hiring manager pulled up her facebook page and questioned her about the contents of her profile. She thought her page was private, but that didn’t prevent this employer from gaining access. So use this horror story as a warning—keep it appropriate. Keep it professional.

Do you have any other advice on how to behave professionally while on sites such as Twitter and Facebook?