What Not To DoWith Social Media

Just because you can post something on Facebook, Twitter or MySpace,

doesn’t mean you should . . .

Should You Post That Picture?

Social Media is a great place to show & tell your friends about that new job you got, what you think of your favorite team, the great party you went to, or even let off a little steam.

Problem is, other people can and will see it. If you’re “good” enough, you will become a Facebook or Twitter “Fail” as others will delight in making fun of you.

The text and slides are adapted from MSNBC’s Helen Popkin recent column on Social Media “Fails” You see it at http://bit.ly/WHQ2c

The Facebook Fairy is RealIf you get a job at a bank, avoid e-mailing your bosswith a "family emergency“ around Oct. 31, thenposting a picture of yourself on Facebook, dressedas a winged fairy, wand in one hand, Busch Litein the other.

That's the tale of Kevin Colvin, whose "emergency“(aka Halloween kegger) resulted in the Great Pixie FAIL of ’08. After the office caught wind of thepicture posting, Colvin received his boss's response tohis e-mail: "Thanks for letting us know — hope everything is ok in New York. (cool wand)"

Yes, the e-mail was cc’d to the entire office. Yes, it included the fairy photo. Yes, Colvin was fired.

The Skinny on Cisco FattyPursuing a master’s degree in informationmanagement and systems at University of California,Berkeley, didn’t prevent Connor Riley, frommismanaging her own information on Twitter.

"Cisco just offered me a job! Now I have to weigh theutility of a fatty paycheck against the daily commuteto San Jose and hating the work," she tweeted in a post meant just for her friends.

Alas, someone claiming to be a Cisco associate responded in a snarky tone that caught the attention of the whole Twitterverse, sending her new nickname, "Cisco Fatty," to the top of Twitter trending topics.

But I Want to be a PirateIn 2008, Stacy Snyder lost her court battle againstMillersville University to obtain the teachingcertificate denied her just days before hergraduation. Reason for denial? A MySpace photodeemed by school officials as "unprofessional,“"potentially offensive" and promoting "underagedrinking."

The offending picture, snapped at a Halloweenparty, showed Snyder wearing a child’s pirate hat and drinking from a plastic cup. The caption read "Drunken pirate.”

‘Friend’ Your Boss, Then Post ThisDon’t let thosesnooty Britishmake you feel likeyou're not as smartas they are with theirfancy accents & oldschool monarchy.Some of them can bejust as dumb as us

Take for example, this red-hot Facebook FAIL currently making the rounds.

‘Dam Eagles’Some companies long for employeespassionate about them. ThePhiladelphia Eagles, not so much ... at least when it came to stadiumemployee / football fanatic Dan Leoneafter he posted this Facebook status"Dan is [expletive] devastated aboutDawkins signing with Denver ...Dam Eagles R Retarted!!“

Indeed, Leone’s got an unfortunate potty mouth and an inability to spell an archaic adjective. But dude was really sorry! "I apologized 20 million times," Leone told the Philadelphia Inquirer. "I never bad-mouthed the organization before. I made one mistake and they terminate me?“ Leone didn’t get his job back.

Maybe This Wasn’t a Good IdeaJon Favreau, Barack Obama speechwriter, appeared on Facebook posingwith a cardboard cutout of futureSecretary of State Hillary Clinton,smiling & grasping at the cutout’sbreast while his backward baseballcap-wearing "bro" holds a beer tothe Clinton cut-out’s mouth &makes a kissy face on her ear.

Afterwards, Favreau phoned apologies to Clinton’s staff, who assured him, "Senator Clinton is pleased to learn of Jon's obvious interest in the State Department, and is currently reviewing his application.“

Think he got the job?