As you all know because I keep posting about it I’ve been reading a book called #SpeakLove by Annie F. Downs. It’s really inspiring and often gets me thinking at really random times like 5:45 on New Year’s Eve morning or just now in the shower!
A friend of mine approached me about something that was written on FB. It doesn’t matter who was involved and what was said but it has had me thinking most of the week. The thing that was said I’m sure was meant in a completely innocent way but from an outsider looking in – it doesn’t look so innocent.
I joined FB back in 2006 – this was one of my first statuses (as you can see it wasn’t particularly earth shattering!). I think it’s so easy to get a bit “social media happy” that we don’t think about what we’re writing or how it might come across to other people. I know when I was first on FB I did make some faux pas. I’d post something thinking it was vague enough that people wouldn’t know what was going on but actually it was really glaringly obvious in fact I had a similar hiccup about two or three months ago and so it’s still a learning curve for sure.
But people remember in a lot of cases not just your friends and family can see the posts. Especially when it’s so easy to take a screenshot and it be shared again and again. I know that the company I work for do have a Social Media policy in place with regards to commenting on the company FB page or if your friend is ranting about the company to possibly avoid the conversation rather than wade in, in case what you’re saying isn’t necessarily in line with policy and things like that, but what about it from the other angle. What if your future employer saw a status you wrote or pictures of you up to no good? Sometimes you can’t stop what is posted by your friends but you can do your part by filtering what you post.
I hope this make sense. What do you think? Is it easy to get “social media happy” and post without thinking? Is it easy to forget that there is an audience out there who are going to see your posts?
I run loads of Twitter accounts & think carefully about every word and every ‘!’ I use. Even careful of what I RT. The only time I may let up on punctuation is if I’m tweeting a friend but still careful what I say online. I teach Twitter workshops & always say ‘only tweet what you’re happy to shout at 100 strangers in a room!’
Reading interesting book about this at the moment ‘Dot Complicated’
I’ve posted twice in the last month or so about people being more careful about what they write. There are a few people on my friends list who do have the tendency to air their dirty laundry rather speak rather than deal with it behind closed doors and it’s causing more and more upset.
I’ve always been careful about what I write about work because of who I work for and things like that. I think when I have mentioned work it’s been things like “thank goodness for my manager who saved the day” or “so thankful for my colleagues who make sure I’m okay” rather than “I had a sucky day I hate my job and my team suck” (which they really honesty don’t!).
So much of what is said can be taken out of context and the issue is that what you write and what you mean to write can be so different. Also the way it’s taken by another person can be different too.
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