Do You Limit What You Share About Yourself On Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn?

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January 22nd, 2009
Do You Limit What You Share About Yourself On Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn?

Last week on Twitter, Viveka von Rosen [@linkedinexpert], Peggy Dolane [@freerangemom] and I [@marismith] hosted the first "#lion" Twitter discussion: a tweet-in that asked the question: How open a networker are you on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter?.

[#lion = LinkedIn Open Networker - a person who grows their network as broadly as possible.]

This week we’re continuing the #lion conversation with this question:

Do you limit what you share about yourself on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn?

To get the conversation started, here’s some food for thought:

Lisa Nova poked fun at the over-tweeters among us in her YouTube satire Twitter Whore (viewed by over 730,000 to date.) None of us want to be that person, do we?
Smart businesses know that a real person tweeting will win you more loyal followers. Just ask Scott Monty at Ford, @Zappos’ CEO, Tony Hsieh, or @TypeAMom, Kelby Carr who wrote a great post about this issue last summer.
On a more serious note, Canadian child protection authorities were contacted by Twitter recently when a mother made comments about how she might get her children to go to sleep.

There are many aspects of my life I choose not to Tweet about. Everything I do online and offline is with deliberate and strategic intent. "Mindful" you might call it. My underlying questions when sharing are "Would I be comfortable with this information being on the front page of the New York Times? (or found in a Google Search!)" and/or "Would I be proud for my grandchildren to read this information in 20-30 years’ time?"

Here’s the thing, I don’t believe you need to live in a glass house. Sure, many business owners and independent professionals have personal lives very much merged with their personal lives; the lines are blurred between personal and professional. BUT, you must still have a private life as I wrote about here last year.

Does your tweeting have any limits? [Did you know every single tweet is an individual web page indexed by Google?!] Or do you share every minute detail of your life online? Or, perhaps you save more personal information for Facebook and Twitter and keep LinkedIn strictly business?

Join Viveka, Peggy and Mari LIVE on Twitter on Wednesday, January 21, 2009, 5pm PT / 8pm ET to explore more about the pros and cons of open vs. strategic networking.

HERE’S HOW: To read and participate in the live networking tweet-in, log in with your Twitter username at http://tweetchat.com and enter the room for #lion.

[Or, watch the tweets at this search string and chip in with your own #lion tweets from your favorite Twitter app.]

Related posts:

[Blog jointly written by Peggy Dolane and Mari Smith.]

Peggy Dolane, @freerangemom:

Peggy Dolane, principal at Provient Marketing, designs affordable marketing programs and writes engaging copy that turns your audience into customers.

Viveka von Rosen, @linkedinexpert:

Viveka Von Rosen is the CSMO (Chief Social Media Officer) of Integrated Alliances, and the Social Media and Marketing Director for The Executive Center. A victim of expensive and ineffective traditional marketing, Viveka was able to double TEC’s business through social and F2F (face to face) networking. It is now her passion in life to help others build their businesses through social media strategies.

Mari Smith, @marismith:

Mari Smith is a Relationship Marketing Specialist and Social Media Business Coach. Dubbed the Pied Piper of Facebook by Fast Company, Mari helps entrepreneurs grow their business profits using an integrated social marketing strategy with particular focus on Facebook and Twitter.

If you’re reading this post after the #lion Twitter discussion [quite possible as I'm posting it at DFW airport just as the discussion is starting, lol!] – you can still view the tweetstream here or here.

Share and Enjoy:

Posted in Business Building Strategies, Facebook for Business, Professional Networking, Relationship Management, Relationship Marketing | 14 Comments »

14 Responses to “Do You Limit What You Share About Yourself On Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn?”

Ronald Earl WIlsher, on January 22nd, 2009 at 1:37 am Said:

Great info, Miss M!

Thanks for reminding me of what an old friend of mine once told me. “Don’t hit the SEND button on anything that you’re not willing to testify in court about…….under oath.

Welcome to the 3rd millennium, my online friends.

Thanks again.

Keep the faith and keep being you!

~Ronald
TrueBeliever & HopeDealer
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Dr Wright, on January 22nd, 2009 at 1:56 am Said:

I do limit personal information. Because I am so public, I try to keep my business information up front and not my personal information out there.

I do that on everything site I work with

Dr. Wright
The Wright Place TV Show
http://www.wrightplacetv.com
http://www.twitter.com/drwright1

Dr Wrights last blog post..Keep The Story Straight
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Peggy Dolane, on January 22nd, 2009 at 6:28 am Said:

Mari, Kudos to you for tweeting in from the floor of the airport (laptop batteries dying is such a drag.)

It’s great seeing so many new people not only joining in the discussion, but also learning about how to create a community conversation using a hash tag. Keep being reminded there are a new crop of tweepl coming on board every day — you do an awesome job of helping people learn the ropes and welcoming folks into the stream.

Honored to be a part of this joint project with you.
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Shahrzad Arasteh, on January 22nd, 2009 at 11:36 pm Said:

Dear Mari,

Thanks so much for this post! I’m sorry that I missed the Twitter discussion, but appreciate you reminding readers to think about what they choose to share on the web (before they do it), while trying to let their personality (or that of their business)come through. Your questions/criteria are good ones for each person to consider before deciding whether or not to share a particular bit of information, thought, or experience.

Many thanks,

Shahrzad
http://www.careerconsultmd.com
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Traci Knoppe, on January 23rd, 2009 at 11:10 pm Said:

Ack! I missed your Wednesday nite networking tweet-in. Hopefully you’ll have more in the future and I can catch you then.

Traci Knoppes last blog post..Twitter: Thankful for Unfollows
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Roz Fruchtman, on January 23rd, 2009 at 11:22 pm Said:

Hi Mari:

I agree 100%. I always try to monitor what I write on-line — when it comes to really personal stuff. One never knows who is reading and how things can be misinterpreted, even when they are not really personal.

Another thing to consider is — possible future clients may be evaluating us!

Thanks for reminding us though, we never hear this stuff enough and sometimes even the best of us slip!

Also, to add to the personal stuff… We should also be aware to NOT be insensitive to others – even unintentionally.

Roz Fruchtman
Say It With eCards
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Lurleen D. McNair, on January 24th, 2009 at 7:35 am Said:

I can say that I really do limit what I share on Twitter, Linked In and Facebook. I just keep thinking that no one really wants to know what I ate for dinner.
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Jeanna Gabellini, on January 24th, 2009 at 4:39 pm Said:

Mari,

I think you are a perfect example of walking your talk on this one. You give lots of information, some fun stuff and in the process, you are authentically YOU!

My personal perspective on this topic is to come from your heart (no ego, neediness, hidden agenda)and you’ll always post the best stuff. Your perfect clients will be attracted to you like a magnet, because when you are connected you ARE Attractive.

BTW- The blue pen video is off the scale CUTE and soooo MARI!

In fun,
Jeanna
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Barbara Hauck, on January 27th, 2009 at 3:03 am Said:

Pictures should also be mentioned in this discussion. After recently discovering that pictures online can be copied and then sold to marketers around the world, I am now cautious of what I put into my photobucket.
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Stephanie Sullivan, on January 30th, 2009 at 5:43 pm Said:

Thought provoking post. Thanks!

Just thought I’d mention that the link to the #lion chat on twemes seems to need no hash mark in the URL (it gives all the latest that way). I think it needs to be written like this to go to your chat: http://twemes.com/lion

Ciao,
Stef.
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Tom Ash, on February 2nd, 2009 at 3:42 am Said:

As a person new to the web 2.0 world, I appreciate the insights.

Thank you
Tom Ash
Agentspayingforward.com

Misty Faucheux, on February 3rd, 2009 at 10:24 pm Said:

I like sharing some of my life on Twitter, but not all of it. It’s just that I don’t know these people personally. It doesn’t mean that they’re bad people; it’s that it seems strange to share your most intimate details with people that you are not intimately involved with.

Just my two cents.

Misty Faucheux
Social Media/Community Relations Manager, Viscape.com
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Chris, on February 4th, 2009 at 3:22 pm Said:

I’m probably an extreme case on limiting information. After bad experiences with a stalker (hacker) ex made my life hell for a couple of years, and friends who have dealt with identity theft, I’m very cautious about sharing personal information online (and even offline to a degree). Avoided the whole social networking thing til recently, and am finding it really, really hard to balance the transparency of social networking with my personal need for privacy and security.

I joined Facebook, Twitter and a couple of other sites but only put in limited info and intentionally limit friends to a small circle. I use privacy features where available. I hesitate to mention anything that identifies where I live or where I will be. I don’t even list my location, birthday, or other details and I know that’s not good. I am having a really hard time getting past my “issues” and wonder if anyone else has similar difficulties.

JoLynn Braley | The Fit Shack, on May 30th, 2009 at 8:46 pm Said:

Hi Mari, how the heck are ya?

I totally agree that you don’t need to be so transparent that you literally let it all hang out and disclose every little thing about your personal life and such when using Social Media. In fact I see this as being a major misconception about how to use social media – so many I have spoken to who currently aren’t using SM say that they don’t want to have to Tweet or FB about what they just ate and exactly what they are doing every minute.

Like you said, there is a “mindfullness”, which I call using Social Media consciously (best way to live in general )….consciously communicating not only what will benefit you and others today, but any day to come in the future.

Rock ON Mari, love your insights!

JoLynn

JoLynn Braley | The Fit Shacks last blog post..Memorial Day Weekend and Now Bikini Season Begins!
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