Wally's Blog

I have several friends that are teachers. Many of them are on Facebook, LinkedIn, E.Factor or other social networking sites. I recall one specifically that when I saw him on Facebook I thought to myself, wow...he's taking a chance. Of course what I am referring to is the potential that he or other friends of his may post a comment or picture that of course he wouldn't want his students to see. I had a conversation with him about this exact thing and he told me his solution was that if a former student wants to "friend" him, they have to be out of school for at least two years.

The above is very sound advice, not just for teachers but for business people as well. We've all, by now, heard the stories of how someone was fired because they called in sick but then posted on Twitter, Facebook or wherever that they were actually not sick and out doing something. With all the social media options out there, a business person needs to pick and choose where they want to play & where they want to work.

For me & social media my playground is Facebook, my work space is E.Factor & LinkedIN. You need to make this differential as to who you add to your network in any of these places. I came to this realization when a friend of mine posted some photos from college of me on Facebook in less than flattering circumstances. To my friends and even me the photos were actually pretty funny. Once I thought about it more though, and I had a client or two as friends on Facebook, I thought ewww....how's that going to portray me as the responsible person that these clients have entrusted with making sure their online presence is stellar & solid.

I could have shrugged the above off, rationalizing that those photos were from almost (gulp) 20 years ago. However, even being on the verge of 40, I still like to have a good time on occasion and act like I am in my 20's and do I really want those photos of me now on display for clients? The answer would be no. There are of course exceptions, some of my long held clients I have developed personal as well as professional relationships with and I may consider letting them into my personal social media world, but I would still think twice about it.

It's easy to make the decision between personal and professional in real life, an entirely different thing in your virtual life. So think about your online choices when you see a colleague, employer, client or even potential client asking to join your network. More importantly, think about how you act on that particular social media platform and how your actions on it may potentially affect you in the eyes of this person.