I saw this phrase “…collision of professional and personal worlds” as part of a blog post entitled the “Blurring Lines of Work and Life” by Len Devanna. What happens when you make your total life a personal on-line reality series? What are the losses and gains that occur when you can be accessed and examined 24/7? I have been trying to determine if my uneasiness with the internet privacy issue is due to my age or to my own unique set of personality traits. I have a problem with posting all of my social media site contact information on each of my profiles for complete life cross-referencing. Many people have large lists detailing every possible way in which to connect with them: Facebook, Delicious, LinkedIn, Flickr, Blog site, Website, Twitter. The list goes on and on.
I like to keep my contacts categorized between business and personal social media sites with a few select people walking the tight rope between both of my worlds. I have always been an extremely private person, yet at the same time, I am highly extroverted and have a very likeable and approachable personality. This is a very fine line to operate under.
A great point was made by a friend of mine. He stated that if someone meets him at a business networking event and asks to “friend” him on Facebook, he ignores the request rationalizing that no-one could truly become his friend after a ten minute conversation. I just channel similar requests to my professional networking site, LinkedIn. My Facebook is a place for me to hang out and let my hair down with friends and family. I tend to post lots of pictures, especially from my high school and college years; a veritable “remember when?” collage. I also love to share music videos for favorite bands, some of my creative writing and links to interesting articles. I just don’t need the Vice President of P&G- Tremor to be my friend and pore over my private life unless of course we knew each other way back growing up.
I am a true marketer and I believe that when presenting the brand that is YOU to the public, perception is totally within the eye of the beholder. This is why I believe so strongly in personal branding and being cognizant of knowing who you are and how you want to be represented in the world. Let’s face it; everything on the net is fair game for anyone on the globe to discover about you. We all need to be aware of the dangers of trigger-finger posting and take the time to reflect on whether that Tweet, Blog Comment or public response to a LinkedIn question really captures the essence of who we are and what we are comfortable with sharing about ourselves: our brand identity.
One’s ‘net-print’ runs deep and lasts forever. A hasty post without thought can have repercussions that may last a long time. Stories already abound of people who have come to regret earlier posts that were rants or derogatory statements toward a particular organization or institution. Offers have been rescinded, positions lost and reputations massacred in the public eye. Picture comments you post on Flickr, or stopping by to leave some love on a favorite Blog might not mesh with the professional image you are trying to maintain on LinkedIn or one of the other business-oriented social media sites.
So, if you want your life to be fully displayed on the net through the use of blogging, micro-blogging, pod-casting, vlogging, social network site hopping, etc., then just take some time to determine how you want to be perpetually recorded. Remember, if you wouldn’t want your mother to see your ‘net-print’, then perhaps it’s just not appropriate to post.
As for me, I will continue to keep my professional and personal lives as separate as possible and will do an instant replay in my head before I hit the post button.
Here’s hoping you live a long virtual life with minimal regrets!
Copyright Michelle Beckham-Corbin 2009
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