(or, did you really mean to come across like that?)
A few weeks ago, one of the nGenera interns (and my very own mentee!), Brittany Creamer, wrote an insightful post on the Wikinomics blog on managing your personal identity online. Her main point was that you really can’t control what becomes attached to your name on the giant information superhighway known as the Internet. But, what Brittany’s post doesn’t address is what happens when you make yourself look bad online. And so, as a public service to the nGenera interns who will be leaving us this week, I’ve decided to share a little insight on managing your personal and professional reputation on-line.
I’m not going to go into details of the case in question, because, frankly, I don’t want to be a conduit for someone to continue to tarnish his/her own reputation, but I saw this Reputation Mangling (thanks, Barbara Ling for a new catchphrase, and hat tip to Maureen Sharib for the link!) in action last week, and was really disappointed by the levels to which otherwise professional-minded people will sink when they think no one else is watching.
Rudeness, even under the guise of helpfulness, is still rudeness. On-line rudeness is no better than in-person rudeness. If you spend time working to cultivate a positive image for yourself on-line, you should do what it takes to protect that positive image, and rudeness is step one in the destruction of your personal brand. Here are some things to remember:
- No matter what any privacy policy might state, what you post on-line is very likely to be public, in perpetuity. That means forever. The internet does not yet appear to have a shelf life, and bits and bytes aren’t shredded after 7 years like your financial records are. You can safely assume that anything you put on-line is going to be available to anyone with the dedication and determination to find it.
- Your years of hard work building a solid, stable, positive reputation can be undone with just one moment of weakness. By design, humans are emotional creatures, and our emotions sometimes get in the way of our judgement (and I am truly the queen of this, so I know of what I speak). If someone denigrates you in public, the best course of action is to attempt to handle it privately, and with a lot of thought about what you’re going to say and whom you’re going to involve. One mis-interpretation of what you’ve typed and your reputation could be severely damaged.
- Once your reputation is tarnished, it takes a lot more work to get it polished up again.
- If you want to provide advice to a specific person, do so carefully and in a private manner (emails, phone conversations, etc.). When you’re directing advice to a specific person in a public forum, chances are you’re going to be interpreted in a manner you didn’t intend.
- Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle
Since this is unsolicited advice, I feel obligated to point out that it is not directed at a specific person. Instead, I hope that our interns, and other folks interested in their own personal branding and identity management, will find these tidbits to be helpful reminders that you are what you do.
August 18, 2008 at 4:28 pm
Thanks for including a link to my post – glad you like the phrase! It’s one of my favorites. 🙂
Enjoy, Barbara
August 18, 2008 at 4:30 pm
Hi Barbara! I loved the phrase because it is so appropriate. Thanks for letting me use it! 🙂
August 18, 2008 at 5:05 pm
Imagine how hard this is for people who come of age in a post-google world! From personal eexperience I can say that teenagers aren’t too likely to restrain themselves when posting their innermost thoughts online.
For years I’ve actively avoided social media due to the above concerns and I’m only gradually jumping back into it this year. I still get nervous sometimes when I click Submit.
September 4, 2008 at 3:33 am
Those are very good points and valuable words of wisdom (what a good mentor!!). I think a big challenge with communicating with colleagues and even friends online is the loss of nuances and tone. It’s easy to misinterpret what the author intended to come across, especially in one-liners. Personally, I have difficulty discerning the true meaning of what is “said” if I don’t have the person right in front of me and can see their face in combination with their face. And it’s so easy to be in a hurry and click “send” without putting yourself on the receiver’s end first. Thanks again for these pearls!
September 4, 2008 at 3:34 am
I don’t mean their “face in combination with their face,” that would be silly! I mean in combination with their voice. Oh, the trouble you can get yourself in without proofreading ten times!
September 8, 2008 at 5:51 pm
Blogger Chris Brogan released a free eBook on this topic today at http://www.chrisbrogan.com/free-ebook-on-personal-branding/ , I’m going to check it out.
October 15, 2008 at 4:38 pm
[…] other hand, am terribly old-fashioned. I encourage self-censorship. Thinking before you post. I’ve said it before and I will say it again – the internet is pretty much permanent. If you might be embarrassed […]
March 3, 2013 at 11:50 pm
Bookmarks (Imported)…
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