« Social Media and the New Transparency »

I love it.

Transparency, that is. You are who you are, and you do what you say you will do, and you act accordingly. Knowing that there is the potential for the whole world to see what you are up to is a potentially daunting realization when delving into social media.

That being said, you can’t avoid it. And to ignore it is to do so at your own peril.

I’m a self-proclaimed social media freak. And proud of it. You name it, I’ve got an account on it. Even Plaxo. :-)

I’m on Facebook roughly 6-7 hours a day. Some of those hours are during work hours. (Hi boss!) Transparency is important here. The world knows what you are doing, and when you’re doing it. Why am I on Facebook during work hours? Here you go:

• I am friends with my customers, vendors, partners and competitors. My customers, vendors, partners and competitors are on Facebook.
• I am a fan of MANY fan pages, especially those of key industry players, customers and even competitors. I am using social media tools to stay current with what is going on all over the place.
• I am friends with some very neat people. People who say and post very important and timely things. People who are key in their various industries. People I can turn to when I have a challenge, problem or need a push in the right direction. These smarties are now part of my social network. These are people who know people!

I use twitter sporadically, but only because I’ve yet to find the perfect twitter tool. I’m sure I’ll get to it. I mostly appreciate my FB friends tweeting in their FB status to try and stay abreast of issues.

I’m on LinkedIn, but that’s table steaks if you’re in business. It’s how you keep track of the people who haven’t yet thrown over to Facebook.

But what happens when you aren’t ready for transparency? If you aren’t embracing the transparency?

You get in trouble. Full stop. Anything you say can and will be used against you. In a court of law. At work. With the various and sundry boys/girls you may be dating who suddenly discover that it *is* a small world after all.

Embrace the transparency. Govern Yourself Accordingly. Be Free.