A few days ago, I was reading an article on LinkedIn. (By the way, LinkedIn has been exploding their site with great content lately.) The article described potential pitfalls that you walk right into in your personal career development. Then, it went on to offer the caveat that it might be the fault of your managers.
If you can answer yes to those questions, you might be tempted to add a comment saying as much. Which is what one LinkedIn user actually did.
But . . . his profile is linked to his resume . . . which is linked to his company’s page. I don’t think it would be a stretch to find the name of the managers he is talking about in particular – even though he didn’t list his company’s name or any specific circumstances.
The hapless commenter is probably not in danger of retaliation, but the occurrence highlights the new playing business field. Social media has blurred the lines between your personal and professional lives.
My Social Media Rule
If content I’m posting/tweeting/pinning/commenting is going to be NSFW, it probably doesn’t belong online at all. That may seem constraining to you. I don’t really find it to be. I define NSFW as “if my boss or a client sees this, they will negatively change their opinion of me.”
For instance, someone may raise their eyebrows at my taste in movies or my sense of humor, but it’s not going to make anyone think I’m not capable of doing my job well. On the flip side, if I go on a personal rant directed at an online connection — that doesn’t make anyone look good. It would be reasonable to assume that I was a loose-cannon that couldn’t resolve conflict in a civilized manner.
Have you seen any recent social media faux pas? Let us know on Twitter and Facebook.