Are your Social Media Contacts Blurred?

As social media becomes more important to both our personal and professional lives it is becoming more challenging to separate what were once very distinct aspect of our lives – work and home.  Social media connects us instantly to many networks and individuals.  The question now being asked is whether the two should be separate, can be separate or does it really matter anymore?

Some argue that it is impossible to separate the two, that our personal and professional lives are blurred.  Most of us accept connections easily without thinking who we are connecting to.  Some people connect only with business contacts on LinkedIn; others merge with friends and colleagues on Facebook, while some people connect with everyone.  This blends our personal life with our professional life which can have drawback for employees.

What is usually forgotten is that personal social networks and professional ones satisfy different needs and interests.  They have different purposes and as such the connections really need to be different.

When our contacts become a mixture of personal and professional then what to share or not to share on social media becomes interesting?  Do you really want your manager to see what you got up to on Saturday night?  Probably not for your career’s sake!

Finding a balance can be tricky, some say almost impossible.  However, limiting what your professional connections can see is important.  There are some things that professional contacts should not see or read about as this may offend or upset some people.

Here are some tips worth remembering:

• don’t be critical of current or previous employers
• be careful and mindful with what you share on social media about your employer
• don’t divulge commercially sensitive information
• avoid talking about sensitive topics – pay raises, interviews, new projects
• be careful with the language you use – i.e make sure it isn’t threatening

And more importantly think before you post!  A lot of problematic situations could be avoided if individuals would just take a moment and think before they ‘post’ something.

Do you have any rules about posting where your employer, colleagues or clients are concerned?  Have you regretted something you posted?

Thanks for reading!

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Tags: social Media • Social Media Contacts • social media in the workplace • Social Media Profiles