Looking Professional Online:Why Social Media isn’t always your friend …

Only friends see your pictures.

TrueFalse

False.

In 2006, 20% of employers searched Facebook.

In 2009, 60-75% do.

"Within a short period of time, you could find photos on every search engine on the Web, and these photos could be attached to your name for the rest of your life." (DeMello, owner of Ziggs)

Emails to friends sent from a work computer are private.

TrueFalse

False.

About 43% of American companies monitor email. Sixty-six percent monitor Internet connections.

“Legally, a boss is allowed to monitor all email conversations that occur in his or her workplace via company-owned and operated email clients.”

Employment Law Firms

You can be fired for using ALL CAPS in emails.

TrueFalse

True.

Vicki Walker was fired for “confrontational” emails. A message on filling out claim forms used capital letters, bold fonts, and red type.

“Ms. Walker’s employer determined that her e-mail, making use of ‘all caps’ … was the equivalent of “shouting” at the employees.” (CCH WorkDay)

Hitting Delete makes posts or emails go away.

TrueFalse

False.

“People who use social sites should understand that any information that appears online is there forever and cannot be deleted. Even material that is withdrawn from the Web is cached by search engines and Internet archives.” (Lewis)

“Once you put stuff up, it is out there, and it is gone. You cannot get it back.” (M. Sciola)

Forms of Online Media

TextingEmailSocial networking sitesBlogsWebsites

formal

Texting

Audience likely to be friendlyPerceived to be privateFast and informalCan be forwarded

Texting

14% of teens surveyed think it’s OK to break up with someone by sending a text message

67% would not use text messaging to discuss serious issues

–Harris Poll

Email

Audience is more variedCan be formal or informalIs considered most urgentCan be misdirected

or forwarded

More Tips: Watch address

Insulted by a general email from the boss,an employee sent an angry comment to a colleague (she thought): “Does she think we’re stupid?”

The reply (from her boss): “Yes, I do.”

# companies monitoring email

• Over half of all employers fire workers for E-mail and Internet abuse.

43 percent of companies monitor workers' E-mail– 73 percent use automatic tools– 40 percent assign someone to review

the E-mail manually

Tip: Spelling still counts

This is an actual email.

Purposal

I can beat almost anyones price and almost promise you success and if I don’t reach it, we wont charge you after the time we say we can achieve it until we do.

Tip: Spelling still counts

• Sloppiness is one of “seven deadly e-mail sins”

• 81% have “negative feelings” about those who send email with bad grammar, misspelling and disconnected arguments

• 41 percent of senior managers said badly worded e-mails implied laziness and even disrespect.

‒CNN.com

Who gets the message?

An officer convicted of beating Rodney King sent this email:

Oops. I haven’t beaten anyone so bad in a long time.

A transcript was used at his trial.

Be careful who you friend

Max Sopo was on the run from bank fraud charges

He posted about life in Cancun:

JUST HERE TO HAVE FUN PARTEEEEEEE

Posts were private; friends list not

Blogs

Audience is publicPosts are more formalPosts are available over a long timeOthers may send people to postComments are hard to remove

Top 10 turnoffs for employers

References to drug abuseExtremist/intolerant views

(racism, sexism)Criminal activityEvidence of excessive alcohol useInappropriate pictures

Top 10 turnoffs continued

Foul languageLinks to unsuitable websitesLewd jokesSilly email addressesMembership in pointless/silly group

Blogging cost job offer

Lisa interviewed for a job. She blogged about her intent to move on

as soon as she found something better. Someone from the company read her blog.

• ''I really believe I lost that job offer because of careless blogging," said Lisa, 35, of Melrose. ''It was something I hadn't considered, and it taught me a lesson about discretion.”

Websites

Audience is widespreadNo expectation of privacyMost formalRepresents professional

identity

Possible solutions

Don’t blog Blog under a pseudonym Require password protection Omit identifying details Follow this rule:

Never say [or show] anything in an electronic message that you wouldn't want appearing, and attributed to you, in tomorrow morning’s front-page headline in the New York Times.

Follow basic netiquette

At work: “Litmus test”

“If my boss was looking over my shoulder right now, would he or she approve?”

—Laurent Duperval, president Duperval Consulting

Rules for Social Media

Be yourself, but don’t be a jerk. Tweet others the way you want to be tweeted. Never say [or show] anything in an electronic

message that you wouldn't want appearing, and attributed to you, in tomorrow morning’s front-page headline in the New York Times.

Interacting with people on social media sites works just like in our real physical world except the group is a LOT bigger with a LOT more people listening.

Today’s Assignment

Complete your research report on Social Media (started yesterday).