I have seen a lot of professionals posting some not-so-professional stuff on their pages and profiles. The following is my opinion and those that I have found from social media experts.
1. Don’t get cutesy with your profile. Pictures of your grandchildren instead of your pic is not cool. Neither is a picture of some creepy-looking gravatar or your CAT! And no one wants to hear that you spend most of the day changing diapers or buying wine (you can share this info but it shouldn’t appear on your permanent profile). BTW, it is a good idea to change your profile picture from time to time, just to freshen up your site. It can be a headshot or you on vacation or you reading your favorite book or at your desk writing but remember no cat or funky animated image.
2. Never do, say or engage on social media in a way you don’t want to be seen, heard or perceived in life.
3. Keep up with new features on social media (and new lingo). Has something new been added to the profile option? Did you know there is now a way to ask your favorite authors questions on Goodreads? Did you know that ”via” is now being used by some instead of “RT” on twitter? Or that FB’s Wall is now Timeline?
4. Check your privacy settings. Make your page public rather than trying to filter who sees your stuff. Just assume that anyone can see it and don’t post anything you don’t want the public to see. Be careful with messaging. It’s my understanding that DM on Twitter is not secure and for that reason a lot of true Twitters don’t check them. Impulsive ‘selfies’ on Instagram can be a bad idea (just ask James Franco).
5. Don’t put anything on social media that you don’t want known, such as your political views, where you live, your relationship status, etc. Nowadays, employers often check FB and other sites before hiring and something on your page could be offensive or make you look bad to your potential employer. I’ve heard of teachers getting fired for posting something that was not well received on their personal pages. I’ve heard of people getting robbed when they announced their vacation plans and of employers firing employees who posted pix of themselves at a ballgame or beach when they had called in sick.
Bottom line: BE VERY CAREFUL WHAT YOU POST ON ANY SOCIAL MEDIA!
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