The balance between work and personal is often difficult to scale, especially when it comes to social media. Here are a few things that might help you make your online haven a flourishing zone for your professional persona
We are all oversharers when it comes to the online world. The lines where the real and the virtual merge are pretty blurry, at best. Expressions and rants about work and life are liberating. Exhibit A:
However, when it comes to work, you must try to have a solid ground of what's okay and what's not. Do not share something without contemplating the consequences that may come forth as a result. The thing about online is that rants take at least a few days to go stale, that is if you are lucky. Do you really want to spoil your rapport with your colleagues because of one heated argument?
1. Telling is fine, never name
You could be angry with a certain co-worker but remember that it is completely unacceptable for you to name them while narrating the incident online. There are much better ways to blow off that steam — drinks with friends outside of work could be a good option. At least you would be able to get a fresh start the next morning over your regular cup of coffee. Even if you do choose to put it online, try to be vague and/or pepper the incident with some humour for good effect.
2. Stay away from the deets
When you are putting something in the public domain, remember it stays there for a really long time. Even if you were to delete the post, screenshots are an imprint you are unlikely to escape unscathed. One of the things you could do is to stay away from sharing specific details about your office, colleagues and work culture in general, especially when sharing an achievement. New shipments arriving after a lot of negotiations are cool but try to not show off a logo unless you are permitted to do so. You can save yourself a lot of trouble that way!
3. Bare your love authentically
Your social media profiles are an extension of who you are as a person, given how quite a considerable number of your content consumers are people who know you from real life. Though you can always fool them about how much you love your work and life, wouldn't life be so much easier if you were being true to yourself and others? Go ahead, express your happiness to your heart's desire. But remember, if you aren't as happy as you seem, the psychological toll of such posts is sure to haunt you for longer than the duration of the post's visibility.
4. Do not make people feel used
Although it shouldn't be the only intention, the idea that the efforts you are putting into networking online will reap professional benefits eventually is a good afterthought to have. However, ensure that the people you interact with do not feel used. There should be a sense of genuineness in your approach. Build on your relationship before you ask for a favour. For example, if you want someone to critique your work, dwell into exchanging thoughts and build a relationship and do so only after you have a sense of comfort has been established.
5. Beware of the screenshots
While ranting out to a friend via a messaging app is completely fine, be careful if it's with someone you know from work or have common co-worker friends with. Office gossip is bound to be juicy and screenshots can get you into a lot of trouble if they get out. While we are not suggesting that you should stop trusting people, you should definitely be slightly more vigilant about the consequences of such rants in the digital world.
Here's a bonus tweet for you, happy working!
Think we missed out on an essential aspect? Tell us in the comments or write to us at team@socialsamosa.com. We would love to expand the list!
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