Be Careful What You Post and Where You Post It.

With all the social media sites available now, it is almost impossible for someone to be invisible online. What does this mean to those of us who work online? It means we have to live a transparent lifestyle in business and our personal lives. This does not mean you have to tell everyone your private business on your Facebook profile every day, in fact it is exactly the opposite.

Let’s say you heard about a company you are thinking of doing business with but you do not know anything about them. The first thing most of us would do is Google them, right? Have you ever Googled yourself? You may be surprised how much information you actually have on the internet. So, you Google the client and see who owns them and what information is available online about them. Once you get some information, this can lead to more information, and then you will find even more information! By the end of your quest you can probably discover what this person ate for dinner yesterday and how they had to rush back to work and meet with a new client. This would be a good example. 

A bad example is when you see on their Facebook and Twitter is how they got so incredibly drunk last night that they did some really stupid things (with sordid detail) and ended up in jail for assaulting someone. This is not the kind of person you want to be doing ANY kind of business with, right? The thing I am trying to say is that even if you are the kind of person who went out and had some drinks last night and got into some trouble – DO NOT post it on your profile or on anyone else’s profile either.

Everything online is public information, even when you think it is private. The more you share the more we can find out about you, so be sure to only post what you want other people to know about you. Look at the big scandal with the Ashley Madison site and cheating spouses. Their motto is “Life is short. Have an affair.” On their home page it says 100% Discreet Service, SSL Secure Site. Not so true anymore, is it? So, be careful what you post and where you post because it can cost you a good job or even your marriage. Just some of my thoughts.