subject: Facebook Status Updates and You: Protecting Your Image [print this page] Facebook Status Updates and You: Protecting Your Image
We're living more and more of our lives on the Internet, one of the biggest sites we used to do this is Facebook.com. In an instant we can share pictures with family and friends, catch up with people we haven't seen in years, or even play a couple games. We can also use Facebook to update people on the goings-on in our own lives via our status updates. Today I just want to take a couple minutes to talk about your Facebook status updates and how they can affect your personal image. We'll talk about what's okay to post, how often you should update your status, and most importantly what you should never write. Most of this, again, will be common sense stuff you should already know, but since it's such an important subject it bears repeating.
We all love to share good news with our family and friends. Most of you are like me and you have friends that live all over the world. Calling your friends every time you wanted to talk or tell them anything would be insanely expensive. Facebook gives us a tool to communicate with friends and family all over the world in one simple step, our status update. From a professional image standpoint though, we want to look at things that are really going to help us build and maintain our positive image. Mentioning a new project you're working on, or important projects that you've just completed, is a great way of highlighting your work ethic. It's also great to mention awards and honors that you receive, however you don't want to go on and on about them. No one likes bragging in cyberspace anymore than they do in real life.
It should also go without saying that you never want to post anything negative on your status. Even the most innocuous things can be detrimental to your image when viewed only through the context of the status update. For example; updating your status and letting your friends know that you just got a speeding ticket might seem harmless enough to you, but you never know how someone else will react to that. If it's a possible distraction, or source of offense for either your employer, or customers keep it off your profile. I once had a client who posted on his profile that he'd had a great time with his friends last night and had a little bit of a hangover. This was a seemingly benign statement that he didn't really give much thought. However he had a client who's son was an alcoholic, and who didn't appreciate the reference to the drinking. Not only did my client not know that the customers son was an alcoholic, he didn't even know the customer had a son, yet he still lost the customer and took a hit with his boss for it.
Aside from what to write, and what not to write, how often you update your status can say a lot about you. I have friends that update their status every time they move (at least that's the way it seems). Not only is this mildly annoying, but it also gives the appearance that you don't do anything but surf Facebook all day long. Barring any important announcements that I feel I need to share immediately, I update my status once every couple days. I, like many of you, have a fairly regular day-to-day routine. I don't need to update my friends every time I take my kids to school because they know I do that everyday. However, like I said, you should feel free to share important updates any time. Speaking of time, you want to refrain from posting status updates overnight. Aside from emergencies that need to be posted immediately, updating your status at 3:30 AM to tell people you just got home can give the wrong impression.
Facebook can be a powerful tool to help market yourself and your career. You can highlight your professional achievements, and help establish yourself as a valuable commodity to any company. You can also, however, give yourself an inaccurate image of someone who likes to party nonstop and is obsessed with the Internet. Like I've said a dozen times, people who view your profile are doing so without the context of feedback or explanation. Which means everything you post, this includes pictures, status updates, things you "like", and the groups you join will have to stand on their own merits. Keep all this in mind and use good common sense and you'll be fine.
