20 Something Bloggers

The Bloggers With The Most To Say

public / private

How have you managed balancing your online life (blogging, twitter, flickr, yelp, facebook, etc) with your professional life (clients, bosses, people Googling you?). Have you started to change what you write for fear that it will impact your career, or do you view what you do and write as apart of what you bring to your career?

I've recently had many clients become "friends" with me on Facebook and twitter. And I'm living these questions right now. Would love to know if you've dealt with similar things and how you've responded.

thanks,
Zach
www.quiverandquill.com

Tags: blogging, branding, job, publicrelations, socialmedia

Views: 0

▶ Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by NoOrdinaryBen on April 27, 2008 at 9:30am
I keep saying that as long as you're not posting exclusively about getting hammered and getting laid, blogging and other social media tools show that you're intelligent, motivated, connected and forward-thinking - all good things in my industry at least. Besides, any online activity helps you claim your google search keywords so that at least YOU have the control over what your current/potential employers find out about you.

As for the blog, I understand that everything I post is public so while I don't censor myself, I don't use it purely as a venting space about all my little offensive thoughts.

I'm pretty strict with my Facebook though since I can't control what other people post on my wall. Privacy restrictions are my life.
Permalink Reply by cooper on April 27, 2008 at 2:05pm
When I was interviewing for grad school, believe it or not a post of mine was brought up...it was kind of funny because the post was titled " http://wonderlandornot.net/2005/07/29/im-off-for-a-couple-so-suck-s...".

I am ever careful now.

I don't use most of those applications much I think they can be damaging if you do not use common sense.
Permalink Reply by brandyismagic on April 27, 2008 at 4:11pm
Here's what I do: I think while writing- 'would I care if my boss saw this?' and if the answer is 'yes!', I do a little re-wording, if the answer is 'no', then I keep at it. I don't want to censor myself, but I think being aware of how large your audience could potentially be is important. I have to take into the account that I work with kids too- and it's important to stay professional while writing about them, but at the same time I could never not share some the ridiculous/fantastic things they say. I just change the names and send it out. This is a great question though and has definitely got me thinking....
Permalink Reply by raych on May 6, 2008 at 8:07pm
That's what I do - think if anyone at work would say anything if they read something I wrote. I usually keep things pretty general, so I think I'm safe for the most part.

But ... there are some things that I would love to write about, but I don't - - usually stuff about my private life ... which makes me wonder if i should start a private blog somewhere ..
Permalink Reply by Maxie on April 27, 2008 at 6:01pm
I actually just moved my blog because of work stuff and now I'm less "google-able." It was kind of scary that you could type in my full name and my blog would pop up.

As far as facebook I'm pretty open. Only one of my co-workers is on there, and with facebook's new security settings it makes it easier for me to control what he sees and what he doesn't see.
Permalink Reply by Um...Yum! on April 28, 2008 at 11:20am
Once in a while, I go through my blog and think, 'If my boss read this, would it be ok?' And that decides if I keep an entry or delete it. I don't put anything controversial on my facebook, and I changed my real name on my myspace so no one can randomly find me. And I'm also careful about the e-mail addresses I use. I try not to name names or companies or anything else like that. If there is anything embarassing, it's probably harmless (like my obsession with (fluff)friends on facebook :oD). And for the most part, I don't think the people I work for right now would care. But I do plan on working with children in the near future in elementary schools, so before I apply for those jobs, yeah, I'll have to do some reevaluation of my online personalities. :o)

Yeah, I give this a lot of thought.
Permalink Reply by PP on April 28, 2008 at 4:29pm
I don't say where I work, but I have already gotten into shit with co-workers re: my blog and have asked my HR department about it, so know I'm ok for the moment. That being said, I am very careful about what I say now, as I've even had abuse via this community!!! So I know how easily things can be found - which I should have known anyway, because I am an EXPERT at finding out other people's secrets online!!! :)
Permalink Reply by Allison on April 28, 2008 at 4:37pm
I think if you're really open with your identity - posting locations, names, pictures, etc. and of course allowing your friends or co-workers to read it, then yeah, you need to be careful about what you post. But there are a lot of people who use pseudonyms or change identities or never post pictures and so you never really know who they are. They are just "Sarah" from "Dallas" and you're like, well, there are probably a hundred Sarahs in Dallas, what are the odds I'll meet this one?

I, however, am ridiculously well-known because of all the diabetes advocacy I do. So I do have to be careful about I write because my friends, my family, my co-workers and my boss all read my blog on top of all the random strangers who find me via Google. It can be a little overwhelming, but it's worth it for the purposes of what I do.

I should add that I also got my job because of my blog. I work in social media for a PR agency, so having a blog and knowing about the social networks helps me explain things to clients and come up with cool strategies. I became friends with someone who reads my blog and he recommended me for the job when I told him I wanted to move to the NYC area. So it can actually be quite helpful!
Permalink Reply by Melissa Leeanne on April 28, 2008 at 6:13pm
In a terribly confusing attempt to maintain anonymity for my friends, at least, I have named everyone Miss or Mister A, B, C or so on. This worked wonderfully for a friend of mine who keeps a small circle of close friends. I have found however, that I start to lose track of who is who and it becomes an amusing game to discern which Mr. C pulled these shenanigans.

I heard that a former colleague in a superior position saw that I had written about her in a blog, but I hadn't listed names or my workplace or any information - she'd be the only one to know, and only if she felt personally that she was behaving bitchily... It didn't affect my employment there.
Permalink Reply by Angela on April 28, 2008 at 9:18pm
I calculate how I distribute my blog. I share it pretty freely with people I meet online, but I don't link to it from my facebook profile. I don't write anything TOO personal on it. And I don't write anything that I don't want to come back and bite me. The only truly unflattering things I've written have been about 2 ex-boyfriends (one of whom knows EXACTLY where my blog is but couldn't be bothered to read it even when we were dating, the other I don't think even knows I'm a blogger).
Permalink Reply by abby on May 1, 2008 at 10:40pm
Well, I am a teacher (student teacher at the moment) so we are definitely discouraged to put ourselves on the internet lol. However, I have a facebook, myspace, website (for art) and blog... but I definitely don't add my students on facebook or myspace!! And I don't censor my blog but I do watch what I say; I never write anything about drinking or sex. Also, I am getting married this summer and I intend to continue using my maiden name on my blog while my students and professional friends will know me by my other name. I also don't link my blog from just anywhere... I give it to people I meet online but I am more careful when giving it to people I see on a daily basis (because then I can't bitch about them anymore hah!) However, many employers see having a blog as being creative, innovative and modern... I don't think it's a bad thing to tell your boss/friends about if you keep it PG and don't post everyone's name.
Permalink Reply by MargotToBed on May 1, 2008 at 11:26pm
I make sure my full name has no association with my blog so it doesn't come up when my name is googled.. I also keep my linked in and facebook profiles separate from my other social network links -- I also don't write about things that my bosses wouldn't be cool with.. most of my coworkers / work associates are on a limited profile on facebook too

RSS

Welcome to 20 Something Bloggers!


© 2012   Created by Lisa.

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service

Sign in to chat!