Social Media Mistakes Part One: The Simple Stuff

As you sit here reading this post take a look at your surroundings... I figure most people would be sitting at home, at the coffee table, enjoying their newspaper and looking for a new job. However, there are many of you who may be in an environment with a coffee cup at your desk instead, TPS reports waiting to be done, and, nevertheless, here you sit browsing the Internet. The purpose of this series will be to summarize a list of Social Media mistakes I have found and prevent you from losing the job you have.

Social Media has become very personal these days, yet it is very easy to view web 2.0 technologies at the driving force that converges our professional and social lives. because of this I think it's important to focus on what you shouldn't do at work, not just just using social media for branding and career strategies. Who you are and how you behave outside of work can impact how you're perceived inside of work and visa versa. Therefore this series will be aimed at preventing those mistakes early on.

Friending your manager and then complaining about your job.

At work, people are trying to connect with colleagues on social networks. It's a fact and part of human nature. Sometimes, you feel that you're friends with your co-workers and other times you may think that if you friend your boss or an executive, it may pose for a future career opportunity. By using social networks strictly for professional use, then this is a good move, but the second (and I mean the second) you want to make it a social endeavor, that's when the game changes.

A recent survey by OfficeTeam indicated that 32% of executives are not comfortable at all being friended by their boss, and 33% weren't comfortable being friended by people they manage or clients. You want to get to know a person at work before you friend them or even ask them before you do, otherwise the work environment might be awkward for you and it might open you up to a world of misfortune. Another survey by Proofpoint suggests that you better wise up on social networks, since 8% of people have been laid off in 2009 for bad behavior, which is double from 2008.

Next: Social Media Mistakes Part Two: Me Before We >>