Social Networking: Protect Your Reputation

Post this, tweet that, add it to your wall. If you haven’t gotten drawn in by the hype, I'm going to help draw you in now. But beware, you have a reputation to protect. Its your face on Facebook. And tweets can be instant death to your brand if you spam. Think before you type!

I love this metaphor creating for a profile: When you walk by someone’s desk, you are drawn to the photos and the way they have personalized and organized their space. You pick up on clues to their lives without realizing it. Only display on your profile what you’d put on your desk. Don’t add anything to your profile that you wouldn’t display for your supervisors, co-workers and clients to see as they’re walking by your work environment. Trust me on this. It's your reputation.

Contrary to popular belief, social networking isn’t about collecting friends. There’s no reward for quantity. The quality of your social networking experience will be based on the quality of the people in your network. Be sure to join groups related to your business interests. Many groups are nonsense, but there are quite a few that can provide useful information and professional connections. And remember, you will be judged by the company you keep.

A final word as you go about exploring the endless horizons of the social media galaxy. Limit time wasted on social networking sites. Twitter, MySpace, Facebook, and even the new social marketplaces like Bonanzle can suck you in pretty easily. Remember, you have work to do. It won’t help your business if you fail to accomplish projects because you were too busy playing or shopping. If you find that you’re spending too much time reading message boards and chatting, playing games or gossiping then set limits for yourself. And think about your reputation.