Be Your Own Publicist

This post from Deb Ng kind of got me thinking about how much we share on-line. About “how much is too much” and about the need to establish some personal and professional boundaries.

For example, here’s a Tweet from someone I follow:

I could only imagine that this person shares the same status updates on Facebook. And how many countless others do the same? Either because they don’t know better or because they don’t care.

But have you ever stopped to consider how this impacts your personal and professional life?

1. The Professional Aspect

How much information should you be sharing about your work projects? Should you really be talking about your clients (venting and such)? It doesn’t matter if you’re doing it anonymously, a client will readily assume you’re referring to them (and you most likely are). Have you stopped to consider how your Blog, Facebook, Twitter, etc. will make an impression on a potential employer?

I’m not saying you can’t Tweet about landing that new design client, go for it… And congratulations!

What I’m saying is, be conscious about sharing information before something’s official. Or disclosing too much information. And never, ever, vent over a business relationship with a client. Keep that sort of thing to yourself and keep moving forward.

2. The Personal Aspect

Where do you draw the line on how much you share on the web? Do you post everything and anything? Or do you filter yourself?

Privacy isn’t the same for everyone. Some people will willingly share more than others. But how much are you willing to share? Social media isn’t all about sales and marketing after all. You still have to inject some humor and personality into your interactions on-line. Otherwise, well, you’re just boring.

But should you really be tweeting some things? (See above). Should you really be checking in on Foursquare when you drop your kids off at school?

Where’s the balance?

Be Your Own Publicist:

• Be aware of what you’re posting, it will live forever. Period. So if it’s something you think  you might regret later, don’t post it. If it’s something you think might offend someone, or reflect negatively on you, don’t post it. If it’s something that would offend your grandmother at the dinner table, don’t post it. (If you’ve read this far, you get the idea).
• Post things that are interesting for your audience. Don’t make it all about you, make it about them. A good friend of mine once said, “the key to being interesting, is to be interested.” Meaning, to be genuinely interested in other people. To listen, with interest, to what they have to say. So this week, challenge yourself… Let’s see how long you can go without posting something with the words “me” or “I” in your update. Focus instead on interacting with others and listening intently to what they have to say.
• Reply when you have something to contribute. You don’t need to reply to every single Tweet and ReTweet (I’m thinking #FF Tweets in particular here). Instead, reply when you have something helpful to contribute. The idea here is to focus on being helpful and building your audience by helping others.
• Celebrate your little victories – that’s how you build momentum. It’s nice to hear what you’re working on and how you’re making progress. But again, be conscious about sharing information before it’s official.

What would you add? Where do you strike a balance between what you decide to share on-line?

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