I hate when people get on their soapbox about managing your online reputation, by being careful about what you post on social media, etc. We live in a world where the lines are very blurred. Isn’t over sharing the whole point of social media?
That being said, it is important to think twice before you post the wasted pics from Saturday night or send a compromising selfie to the guy you hooked up with last week. These things might seem harmless at the time, but they WILL come back to haunt you. You don’t want to lose an important opportunity over something stupid.
Eric Schiffer, Chairman of ReputationManagementConsultants, tells us the biggest mistakes that Gen-Yers make when it comes to social media. I had an “oh crap” moment after reading Eric’s tips because I am guilty of most of the mistakes below. Must get better!
1. Posting Regrettable Photos: If you’re at a party or a bar, you may want to think twice about posting the photo of yourself with that flaming shot in your hand. Remember, certain sites/apps like Facebook or Instagram own the rights to any photo that you put online as soon as you post them.
2. Cross-branding Professional/Personal Profiles: Certain social profiles like LinkedIn can and should be used exclusively as a professional portal for colleagues and potential employers. In those cases, be careful not to add too much personal information or use vulgar language.
3. Be Aware of The All-Seeing Eye: Even in today’s modern age, so many Gen-Yers seem ignorant of the fact that cameras are virtually everywhere! If you’re out in public, chances are there’s someone or something recording you, and that footage can easily find its way online.
4. Being Hateful or Attacking: There’s an increased amount of vitriol that’s spewed online these days, and a lot of it comes from our young people who are really settling into their comfort zone when it comes to free speech and what they are willing to say. Since sites are more connected these days (Google-Blogspot-Youtube; Facebook-Instagram-Twitter) young people don’t often realize that a comment they make on one site gets saved and posted to many other avenues where they may not want it.
5. Not Understanding Time Stamps: Did you ever take a sick day from work and then mistakenly post a photo of yourself at Disneyland that same day? Have you ever told someone you were busy as an excuse, only to share a revealing status update just a short time later? Social media is a perfect place for embarrassing fibs and excuses to blow up in your face.
6. Snapchat can be captured: Many young people gravitate to Snapchat because it’s a more intimate medium, young people can be themselves, and not have to worry about curating the perfect image, nor having content that will be there for posterity. However, images can be screen captured, and even videos can be recorded by other devices, so use discretion.
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