BY SHANE HOMAN
The image that you present on Facebook or LinkedIn is your public face, and will be available to anyone and everyone that has access to the Internet. Your parents, your children, your neighbors and your fellow workers are your audience. In many ways you are displaying your own personal brand.
There are hundreds of social networking websites available to us now, from the Advogato site used by open source software developers to Zoo.gr, a Greek web meeting point. Many of us will belong to two or more of these sites and interact with other site members regularly. It is now very common for someone you have just met, or the HR manager at a company where you have just applied, to Google your name and follow the links to your various networking sites.
Think Before You Post
The pleasure we get from participating in a social network can sometimes cause us to let our guard down in the interest of having a little fun. All your Facebook Friends loved the pictures that you posted from your daughter’s birthday party. Why not post those pictures from the backyard barbeque with Uncle Jim standing on his head trying to drink a beer? The enjoyment we get from on-line Social Networking is resulting in the occasional miss in the area of how we portray ourselves to the general public.
As the website of the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada asks, “What Would You Want a Friend of a Friend of a Friend to Know about You?” In the case of Facebook, it is very important to properly adjust your security settings. While you may have been careful with the pictures or video you have posted, it is easy to follow Friends of Friends and view any of their content that has been tagged with your name. Facebook continues to modify it’s security capabilities, visit your Privacy Settings and adjust them accordingly.
Consistency
It is also important to portray yourself in a consistent manner across your many social networking sites. Despite the fact that Facebook is a casual, family and friends network site, and LinkedIn is a professional, business networking site, a single Google search will turn up links to both. A ‘wild party’ image portrayed on Facebook will clash with the ‘focused business professional’ image that your colleagues or future employer will see on LinkedIn.
Be careful of who you accept into your social network, particularly LinkedIn. It is now becoming common for a hiring manager to contact one or more of your LinkedIn connections for a character reference. Make sure your connections are people you are proud to know, and who think well of you.
The image that you present on Facebook or LinkedIn is your public face, and will be available to anyone and everyone that has access to the Internet. Your parents, your children, your neighbors and your fellow workers are your audience. In many ways you are displaying your own personal brand.
There are hundreds of social networking websites available to us now, from the Advogato site used by open source software developers to Zoo.gr, a Greek web meeting point. Many of us will belong to two or more of these sites and interact with other site members regularly. It is now very common for someone you have just met, or the HR manager at a company where you have just applied, to Google your name and follow the links to your various networking sites.
Think Before You Post
The pleasure we get from participating in a social network can sometimes cause us to let our guard down in the interest of having a little fun. All your Facebook Friends loved the pictures that you posted from your daughter’s birthday party. Why not post those pictures from the backyard barbeque with Uncle Jim standing on his head trying to drink a beer? The enjoyment we get from on-line Social Networking is resulting in the occasional miss in the area of how we portray ourselves to the general public.
As the website of the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada asks, “What Would You Want a Friend of a Friend of a Friend to Know about You?” In the case of Facebook, it is very important to properly adjust your security settings. While you may have been careful with the pictures or video you have posted, it is easy to follow Friends of Friends and view any of their content that has been tagged with your name. Facebook continues to modify it’s security capabilities, visit your Privacy Settings and adjust them accordingly.
Consistency
It is also important to portray yourself in a consistent manner across your many social networking sites. Despite the fact that Facebook is a casual, family and friends network site, and LinkedIn is a professional, business networking site, a single Google search will turn up links to both. A ‘wild party’ image portrayed on Facebook will clash with the ‘focused business professional’ image that your colleagues or future employer will see on LinkedIn.
Be careful of who you accept into your social network, particularly LinkedIn. It is now becoming common for a hiring manager to contact one or more of your LinkedIn connections for a character reference. Make sure your connections are people you are proud to know, and who think well of you.
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