Switchfast Blog: The Future of IT
Social Media: Knowing When to Use for Business or Pleasure
Thursday, September 30, 2010 by Bryan Anderson
Social media has united work and personal life- for better or
for worse. Applications and websites have been integrated into the
business world, but often users are too late to adjust their
habits. Learning to manage your business and private "face" is
necessary as social media's ubiquity grows. Here are a few tips to
help smooth out the learning curve:
Incriminating Updates
Many people do not have their profiles set to private, and even
the ones that do are "friends" with some of their work colleagues
and supervisors. If you fit into that category, try to avoid
posting your personal attitudes and beliefs about the company you
work for, or your leisure time updates. Writing about how
inebriated you are is not professional, and it will be a sure fire
way to losing credibility and respect at the work place.
Avoid Personal Use of Social Networking Sites at
Work
Just as your social life resents intrustion from work, it's
often the case that employers resent non-work use of social
networking sites. Abstain from logging on at work. With
employers focusing on productivity from every employee, bringing
your personal life into the workday can put your job security at
risk.
Keep Company Information Private
If you enjoy and respect the place you currently work at, do not
by any means post updates about a possible changes in the business.
Many companies require employees sign a company privacy policy,
which especially applies to leaking information to the public.
Social media encourages users to share- but beware the perils of
oversharing.
Most Importantly, Use Common Sense
Despite the perils of the two worlds combining, personal and
business uses for social media can coexist. Many sites have
integrated privacy settings to balance the competing "faces" one
presents to the world. Tweak these to your needs, but understand
there are no promises of total privacy.
Until next time -
Bryan Anderson
Switchfast Technologies
Chicago IT Support &
Consulting
Rochester IT Support &
Consulting
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