Being Judicious in creating Social Media Content

I read this great post just now by David Griner over at The Social Path blog. It touches on a subject a lot of people worry about, but rarely talk about: Is what I’m writing going to offend someone? Could I put my job at risk just by being myself? In my own humble opinion, yes.

And it's unfortunate.

People have written on the side while working “day jobs” for years, and there’s never been any harm in it – mostly because when people write on the side, it usually doesn’t get published. Now anyone with a thought and some art can publish, and be widely read. This will get you some cheap fame, but it will also be available to your boss - and so, like it or not, you need to either be careful what you say, or accept the potential consequences.

It is sad, don’t get me wrong – I agree with David completely that the social media landscape is being made drab by people’s fear of losing their job, or fear of blowing a job interview sometime in the hazy, distant future because of anything from a tasteless joke to a diatribe on people who make illegal left hand turns.

But there it is. What we write, say, photograph or film can now be visible to all, if we choose to make it so. You can either compromise and dial down your Benny Hill schtick, or do as I did: Create new profiles and never tell anyone it’s you.
Twitter accounts are free to all, and easier to put together than a Kennedy assassination theory. Unless you are getting into social media to become a “star,” the anonymity and job security of being anonymous becomes a very attractive solution.

It’s telling that most people don’t do this, because at the end of the day we all have that dream of being Guy Kawasaki or The Real Shaq or CNN Breaking News.

It makes me wonder if many of the adopters of social media are in it for the communication, or the fame.

About the Author: Eric Reid

I am the Social Media Services Manager for Off Madison Ave. I've been with the company since 2006, when I was hired to do SEO, and link building in particular. When social networking sites started cropping up, at first I started using them to create backlinks - but they weren't the best for that, given all of the "nofollow" attributes. However, I did see the potential for all of the direct referral traffic they represent. Since then I've been actively pursuing both tactics for clients: Links that can help them for search, and social postings that get them involved in the conversation. It's about the coolest job you could ever get. ;)

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