Launching: YOU Part II

Let's talk about Twitter and Facebook.  First, notice that I have hyperlinked Twitter, but not Facebook.  Why?  Because I treat Facebook very differently from LinkedIN or Twitter and I recommend you do too.

Facebook--at present--is primarily a social venue.  Granted, many businesses maintain pages and quite a few public or semi-public figures have pages, it remains primarily the haunt of people connecting and reconnecting with buddies and long ago schoolmates.

Does this mean it has no bearing on your quest for a personal brand?  Absolutely not.  It is important, scratch that, vital, that you do not project a negative image on Facebook.  Regardless of its social nature, you do not want those pictures of you drunk and staggering, showing up in the hands of your employer or competitor.  Have fun, but keep it clean and career friendly.

While for Twitter and LinkedIN, I suggest you accept virtually any request to link, for Facebook, I prefer to keep it for actual friends.  Your mileage may vary, but with the current state of social media and my life and goals, it works for me.  If you feel like you could benefit from opening up Facebook to business networking, I urge you to be scrupulously careful in both what you post and how you have your security settings tuned.  Much more than with other tools, the potential for disaster is just below the surface.

Next time, using Twitter to complete the social media circle in brand building.