06 March 2012
Recently, I was asked some of my opinions on social media for "The Howler" student newspaper. Here are some things to consider when you are running multiple social media campaigns:
Consideration and social media
Column by Krista Milazzo
Social media, with the goal of instant com- munication, is the technology revolution of our time. I reaffirmed this opinion while recently following an interest group tweet thread.
A favorite band was announcing their concert by posting songs as they were playing via Twitter. There were other music fans also following along, and we interacted almost like we would have if we’d been able to attend the performance in person. But that night’s performance was not like any other night; a major world event happened. It was announced that Whitney Houston had passed, and in remembrance, lines of her songs were added to those being played. With the concert attendees sharing those lines of song in a virtual space, loss was communicated and connection to that moment in time, to that event, and to each other, was established; all because we were utilizing technology.
I’d say that’s what social media looks like when it works; everybody receiving a communication, everybody understanding that an event has happened, and everybody connecting through communicating about that event.
As someone who is learning to be a personal and professional communicator I am glad that social media is designed to be used by everybody, in an effort to connect everybody. But do we all use social media the same way? And is there a best way to communicate with social media?
I was recently introduced to a new album, an art exhibit, and the artist of both, all through Facebook and Twitter interactions. The artist, Noah Mattern, like many of us, is “person- ally” active in social media groups when he uses various sites or applications to share thoughts and stay connected. He is “profes- sionally” active when he is providing quality responses and recommendations to remain vital in our local business markets. He uses Twitter to stay on top of information and communicate items of interest on the fly; he likes to think of it as a “score channel.”
But on Facebook, Mattern communicates to create real social discussion with the people he can’t personally interact with on a daily basis. This works for him; through his shared and sometimes standardized content on social media sites, he creates a virtual presence in the lives of his “friends” and “followers.”
His success is partly due to one of his own guidelines: “If you don’t care what you are putting out there, you are personally responsible for poor content,” Mattern said. This is the kind of thinking that Mattern also uses as the president of the media company where he works. For those of us preparing to enter the professional world it›s something we should consider.
As we try to connect and communicate with people via social media we should consider keeping some information private. The blog ResumeBear warns that “private (often extremely personal) information ends up in the public domain.” It can be seen by employ- ers, neighbors, and even family members. We should consider only sharing content if we can readily accept connection to it and responsibility for it.
In addition, SpalshMedia wrote a recent post on Facebook etiquette and offered a few considerate communication habits that we should be practicing while using social media.
1. Posting embarrassing photos of other people. It is always a good rule of thumb to ask someone’s permission before posting a photo of them. Even if you think it’s a great picture of your best friend, she may hate her expression and resent you tagging her.
2. Oversharing. Did you know that Facebook comments are searchable on Google? Be careful what you share, because one day it might come back to bite you. Keep romantic breakups and hookups private.
3. Posting too much. Watch how frequently you post. If you’re posting more than a few times a day...that’s probably too much.
4. Annoying tone. Avoid constant complain- ing, anger, sarcasm and inside jokes. Stay polite. Before you post a comment, think: would you say it in real life to someone? Despite your best intentions, everything
on Facebook has the potential to become permanent and public.
5. Crossing boundaries. Be mindful of who your friends are and how they might react to your posts. Are you friends with your grandparents or your kids? Are you friends with coworkers or neighbors? Pick out a few people, and before you post, think about how it might affect them. Make sure you visit the Privacy Settings page and set them up accordingly.
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