Facebook Pics and You: Protecting Your Image

Facebook Pics and You: Protecting Your Image

One of the most popular features of Facebook, is the ability to store and share pictures with friends and family. Now while in most cases this is great, there have been hundreds of instances were posting the wrong pick on Facebook can cost you. Today I'd like to take a couple minutes and go over some quick guidelines for you to keep in mind when posting pics on Facebook. We'll talk about what you should use as your profile pic, and what type of pics it's okay to post online. We'll also discuss pics that you should never post. Using a little common sense you can turn your Facebook profile into a valuable tool to help you in your career.

You've all heard the old saying "you never get a second chance to make a first impression", well this has never been more true than with your profile pic. The picture you choose for your profile is the first thing that people will see and, depending on your security settings, sometimes it's the only thing they'll see. Your profile pic is also what pops up when people are searching for you, it's usually only displayed with your name and maybe your hometown. When someone searching for you and they come across your profile pic keep in mind, in most cases they won't have the context of the rest of your profile to judge your profile pic. You want to make sure that your profile pic is an industry-specific, professional looking picture. When I say industry-specific, if your job doesn't require you wearing a suit and tie, then you shouldn't wear a suit and tie in your profile pic. You want to give people the visual of you in your environment, nothing misleading.

When it comes to what the pictures that are okay to display, I like to keep things general and nonspecific. You want the pictures to be of groups of people as much is possible. It's okay to have a few shots of just you and your wife/husband, or just you and your kids, but you'll want to keep these to a minimum. Again remember, were building you a tool for your career here, there are plenty of other places online for you to post your pictures with more anonymity and still be able to share them with friends and family. A good rule of thumb to use is: never post any picture on Facebook, that you wouldn't put up on your office desk. So those pics of you at the club with the boys, with a table full of beer, and doing vodka shots is best left somewhere else.

This brings me to the most important topic we'll discuss today, that being the pictures you should never post on Facebook. This is really a no-brainer, and common sense should tell you what's okay to post and what's not. First, absolutely positively no nudity! This goes above and beyond Facebook's usual clause, in that guys should never appear without a shirt. Ladies, we all know you're beautiful, but the short skirts/shorts and bikini tops don't belong on your profile. Like I said before, there are other places online to share these pictures. Pictures of you drinking are also out. The only exception to that would be pictures from an industry/office party where drinks were served, and even then only white wine or champagne. Now I can go into why that these are the only two that are acceptable, but I doubt you really care. Suffice it to say that years of surveys, opinion polls, and focus groups have shown that people do not consider champagne or white wine to be indicative of hard drinking. And that's the real key.

All in all we really didn't cover anything today you shouldn't already know, this is all basic common sense stuff. But still not a day goes by when I don't see someone who's posted something inappropriate to their profile, and then is in complete shock when it affects them negatively. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: we are building a tool for your success here, not a toy. Your Facebook profile can be a powerful tool when marketing yourself, be it for a new job, a promotion in your existing job, or even for those of you trying to get into college. Keep that in mind every time you post something on Facebook and you'll be just fine.

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