As the traditional 9-to-5 workday collapses and we begin to share more of ourselves through social media sites, the line between our personal and professional lives is being drawn thinner every day. We are constantly trying to balance our personal and professional relationships on sites like Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn, raising the question of how personal our personal branding should be. Even President Barack Obama chimed in on the debate, warning the nation’s youth “to be careful about what you post on Facebook … in the YouTube age.”
For our first-ever Budding Heads PR post, we ask the question:
Should you censor your online personality for the sake of your professional life?
Chris: Trying to separate your social online persona from your professional online image is not only impossible, but will result in a lack-luster personal branding effort.
I’ve wrestled with the term “personal branding” for a long time and am finally deciding to make a stance on how I feel about these two words: THEY’RE STUPID.
While I understand the value of creating a consistent “brand” in the traditional marketing sense of the word, applying this idea to oneself is hypocritical and inauthentic. To me, creating a “personal brand” means deciding who others want you to be and trying to portray that fictional persona to the world.
Often, for young professionals, this means hesitating to share on social networking sites. It means de-tagging pictures on Facebook and making sure your LinkedIn profile picture is a snapshot of you in job interview form.
But why? Why try to be someone you’re not? Aren’t you good enough being JUST YOU?
I am who I am, NOT who I say I am. (And, no, I’m not trying to be Eminem *profanity warning on link.) Granted that perception is reality, as a young professional entering the digital landscape, my words and actions will shape these perceptions. What I do defines who I am. Nothing I say can change that.
My point is that actions have always and will always speak louder than words. If you’re doing one thing and saying another, you’re not transparent, thus breaking one of the cardinal rules of Grunig’s Excellent Public Relations.
Ultimately, the falsified personal brands will be seen for what they really are. Rubish. But that’s to say that folks who are creating a false sense of themselves are even noticed. All too often, young pros fail to take advantage of the personal and professional networking opportunities in SM. If they do engage, they have their trigger finger on the delete & de-tag buttons, fearing that what they do in their personal lives will haunt them in their professional lives.
I say: Get Real.
To me, refraining from being yourself in the online world is like censoring your life. Doctoring your thoughts and actions online to fit into some type of SM normalcy is a bad move. This type of personal branding (READ: life censoring) will leave a young pro lost in a sea of SM celibates, appearing uninspired or unaware of the importance of online networking.
Engage intelligently, but engage authentically.
Amanda: Controlling one’s social media image is necessary to maintain personal integrity and the respect of both professional and personal colleagues.
It’s okay, Kanye, we all make mistakes.
Tales of public figures’ youthful mistakes have been scrutinized for centuries – think Washington and the cherry tree – but new technology will cement this generation’s mistakes online forever.
When we were kids, gossip was word-of-mouth hearsay, whereas today’s kids can prove who kissed whom at Sarah’s party – with pictures. Students interact with friends via social media, but they are also sending that information to the world when they click “upload.”
This idea applies to all of us – would you show your mom that pic of you bonging a beer? Do you want a potential employer’s first impression of you to include a “sexy cat” costume? Do you think anyone WANTS to know that chili at lunch gave you heartburn?
Of course, there are countless examples of people getting into trouble because of social media . We’ve all heard ‘em – and most of us realize posting pictures from Halloween that just happened to be the same day you were “sick” is a bad idea.
When it comes to making questionable decisions, I’m guilty as any college student. Do I have fun with my friends on weekends? Sure. But do I want my boss to see on Twitter that I’m “nursing an AWFUL hangover”? No, thanks. (You can bet I’ll be whining to someone, though.)
And what if someday you become more than just another person, but a public figure? If your not-so-proud moments are embedded in the Web, there’s a better chance than ever they will come back to haunt you. Michael Phelps found that out the hard way.
I’m not saying we should take our personalities completely out of social media, but we need to make sure we’d be comfortable letting anyone and everyone – in our professional and personal circles – into our lives. If you can maintain your integrity with that post or picture, go for it.
Last point I’ll make: Those annoying social media mavens – the ones who post every 5 seconds about where they are or what they’re eating – doesn’t it seem a little egotistical? Do we like to just hear ourselves type? Maybe I’m missing something, but is there anything wrong with a little self-censorship?
images courtesy of : atr.org & valleywag.gawker.com
Budding Heads PR 
18 comments
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October 8, 2009 at 2:34 pm
Chuck Hemann
Hey Guys –
I’m looking forward to following along with this blog. You two are incredibly smart YP’s, and should add a lot to the discussion.
I definitely didn’t make this up, but I cant remember where I heard it at this point, but there are really three rules that I try and live by in social media:
1. Be interesting
2. Be helpful
3. Be yourself
Number three is critical to your discussion above, and one I feel VERY strongly about trying to preserve. Do I consider what I “post” before I do it? You bet. Do I agonize over what I post because I’m trying to cultivate an image? I, quite frankly, don’t have that kind of time. If a thought comes to mind to share with the social media masses, then my first consideration is will people find it interesting. If the answer is yes, then I consider whether or not it will be helpful. If the answer is yes, then I post. Mind you, this all happens in the course of about 2 minutes.
Anyway, way to tackle a tough topic right off the bat!
October 8, 2009 at 5:10 pm
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October 8, 2009 at 5:15 pm
Szczepanik
This one depends on what industry you’re in and how much you like your job. Since this whole SM thing is pretty new. We’re all just feeling out the territory.
Sooner or later your employer and co-workers are going to learn about the real you. Social media just gives them a ffwd button.
Social networking is no different than “real world” networking. I wouldn’t describe bodily functions at a professional networking event. Then again, it discussion topics depend on how well I know the people I’m talking to. If I were to say something that I thought I would later regret, I would tell attendees that I’m Chuck Hemann and leave.
Looking forward to more posts.
October 8, 2009 at 5:16 pm
Szczepanik
Chuck Hemann made the typo in my last comment.
October 8, 2009 at 6:05 pm
Ann V.
I approach SM like I do E-mails – assume your boss is reading everything you write. That keeps me honest (but not too honest – and that’s probably OK). In reality, my sister-in-law posts on my Facebook, my 11 year-old niece is on Twitter and my mother reads my blog, so I have to be a big girl and not write random stuff that no one really wants to know about me anyway.
That said, I don’t try to tailor what I say to seem smarter, more powerful or more in the know than I am. An authentic voice is always going to be the strongest approach.
October 9, 2009 at 12:07 am
Andy Curran
Interesting concept.
Here are some tips.
1. Clearly delineate your “Point-Counterpoint” by labeling with your names in different colors for each. Consider a headline for each of your “into” comments so it stands out more (bigger than the body text, smaller than the banner headline)
2. Keep the segments brief and the topics focused. That’s hard to quantify because it depends on the topic. Know when to stop. A lot of bloggers are verbose. not good. Your first post was a good length.
3. Don’t argue like this at family parties.
You are both intelligent students of the communication biz. Best of luck in this venture.
October 9, 2009 at 5:23 pm
Chris
Thanks for all the feedback, everyone!
Chuck, the three points are a great guiding light. Your point about “agonizing” over what to post is exactly what i see a lot of YPs doing when they first enter the SM scene (myself included). IMO, it’s that kind of contribution that seems contrived & inauthentic.
Mark (or should I say Chuck?): I really like the comparison to a digital networking event. Great way to think about Twitter & Facebook, especially. The difference here is that there’s no set topic of conversation (as there often is at a networking event), and friends, family and colleagues are all present in the same realm. Regardless, thinking of Sm this way is a great way to help define the line between personal/professional.
Ann, it looks like your view align more w/ Amanda’s’ then mine, but I totally understand. You also touched on the family/friends issue, which to me is a major reason that you can’t separate personal/professional (unless you have multiple accounts, but I’m not about to get SM schizophrenia).
Uncle Andy (<– see, I told you friends/family are in the mix):
I really appreciate the feedback. As we move forward on the project we'll be sure to take your points into account.
October 9, 2009 at 5:33 pm
aehcss
Here’s a great post about the value of letting your personality shine through in your tweets by Gary Edgar that really fits in with this convo:
All work and no play makes Twitter a dull read.
http://www.rebelcomms.com/journal/2009/10/9/all-work-and-no-play-makes-twitter-a-dull-read.html
I’m humbled that Gary mentioned me in his blog as someone that mixes it up between personal & professional. The post is a testament to what I’m saying above: being yourself online let’s other people get to know you, even if you haven’t met IRL.
– Chris
October 9, 2009 at 8:23 pm
lara
Great first post.
i look forward to reading more.
just to throw it out there…my facebook account is set to private. only the people i’m friends with can see what I’m updating, tagging etc. and only can people become my friend if i ask them. snotty i know. this way i don’t have to worry about friending my boss, or my sisters high school friends.
i think as long as SM outlets allow this sort of privacy i think it will let people (mostly on facebook) be who they are and not have to worry. that being said i would never bad mouth a co-worker or other respectable person on the interwebs.
i did once (when an ex broke up with me [via text message]) i kinda let the sh*t hit the fan…i learned my lesson and think that SM should be treated with respect and people should follow the golden rule:
“if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say it at all”
great work!
good luck!
.L
October 11, 2009 at 1:12 am
stefaniemoore
Way to go, guys! Great first post and engaging topic. I’m somewhere in between. We need to be ourselves and show our personalities so that people can identify with us, but it doesn’t hurt to give a little extra thought before we send something into cyberspace.
In addition to making sure we use good judgment in posting info about ourselves, we also have to consider how we might impact someone else’s reputation. Some of my friends from high school – BEFORE we had the Internet – recently posted images of me. People I haven’t seen in years scanned in old images to share with MY friends, family and colleagues by tagging me. I’m not a very private person in “real” life, but having my 2-foot high hair for the world to see was a little embarrassing at first – I got over it (and left them tagged). This wasn’t “damaging” to me, again more embarrassing, but you get my point about considering others too.
One more thing: Even if you set your Facebook page to “private,” that’s no guarantee. Once this stuff is out there in digital format, who knows where it’ll end up!
October 12, 2009 at 7:02 pm
Michele Ewing
You’re off to a great start with your blog. Looking forward to following the discussion.
My PR Tactics course will be studying the “personal brand” (sorry, Chris. I like the term.) this semester. I don’t think you have to sacrifice your personality or be insincere. You should always be authentic, but you also should understand a level of appropriateness and professionalism. Employers/clients want to feel confident that PR counselors will provide sound advice and demonstrate good judgment. Should you be yourself? Absolutely. Should you share every sordid detail of your life? I don’t think so.
I also agree with Amanda’s point about people logging every moment of their lives. I don’t get it. Why would anyone care that I’m making chicken for dinner tonight? Is it ego? Is it a need to create some type of connection with people every minute of the day? Plus, how do people find the time to do this?
October 12, 2009 at 7:32 pm
Chuck Hemann
I wanted to add on one other thing here in response to some of the comments/thinking more about your post.
I don’t think people share every moment of their lives on social networks, though a great deal probably share quite a bit of it – me included I guess. I can only speak for myself, but it isn’t an ego-trip. Not to get all psychological (I was a psych major for about 30 seconds – what was I thinking?), but human beings try and satisfy our need to be social in different ways. Some people do it exclusively through face-to-face contact, while others use face-to-face + digital interactions in concert. The beauty of these tools, at least in my opinion, is how they ultimately accentuate the face-to-face meeting for the first time. Think about how strange it used to feel when you were meeting someone for the first time. Striking up that conversation was generally pretty tough. However, if you follow them on Twitter, or are connected with them on LinkedIn, you at least know something that you can use as an ice breaker, right?
October 12, 2009 at 8:20 pm
Chris
Chuck,
Thanks for stopping by again. You’ve hit on few important points that we’ll be addressing in our next post. Stay tuned!
October 12, 2009 at 8:52 pm
Andy Curran
Oh, one more tip. Consider experimenting breaking up the topic into smaller sub-topics and going back and forth on them instead of one person giving their opinion on the entire topic, then the other person goes. If it looks and sounds more like a dialogue, it will be easier to read and follow, and it will be more visually appealing. It might be more time-consuming to do it that way, but it might work for you.
October 12, 2009 at 11:06 pm
Chris
Stay tuned; this is the approach we’re taking with the next post. Still playing with the design of it — the free version of WordPress does have it’s limitations.
October 15, 2009 at 3:40 pm
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October 22, 2009 at 12:00 am
Polprav
Hello from Russia!
Can I quote a post in your blog with the link to you?
December 30, 2009 at 1:48 pm
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