Let me preface this entry by saying that I have a bit of a chip on my shoulder when it comes to talking about age-related issues in the social media space. It comes from all of the times that I have been at a networking event and been shrugged off as some kid that doesn’t belong. It comes from all of the times that I have raised a legitimate question or concern via a social media channel and been ignored. It comes from that one time when I retweeted your f*cking blog post and you didn’t say thank you. Color me mildly pissed about that. So that’s where I’m coming from.
With that being said, if you are old enough to drive a car and you use Facebook for networking or professional purposes, put away the gifts, farms, mafias, and whatever other app you think will look cute on your Facebook page. Lately, all of the invitations and requests I have been getting have come from people who I have met at networking events. People who are using social networking sites for business. People who should know better. Sad face.
I would liken these requests to walking into the office of a small business to find the owner sitting on the floor playing with Troll Dolls or My Little Pony. What would you think about that small business’ ability to handle the demands of their consumers? Would that reflect positively or negatively on your perception of that company?
Oh, and please, please (please!) stop inviting me to join in on the fun. I would rather be hit in the head repeatedly with my own severed arm then join your mafia gang. I’m sorry, but Mafia Wars invitations are grounds for an instant unfriending. No joke. Try me.
Moving right along. So, since joining the big boy grown up world of working in a corporate environment about 3 years ago, I have heard one consistent word of advice regarding Facebook: untag any pictures of yourself drinking or partying that you have linked to your Facebook page. Employers will look at that sort of thing and they don’t want to see you looking unprofessional or, God forbid, having a good time.
Now let me ask you, who would you rather have as an employee? The jovial, good-natured person who goes out on the weekends and occasionally takes his pants off at the bar because it was really hot that day and they were restricting my range of motion and I really wanted to win the dance-off? Or the grown up person who spends all day playing with an imaginary farm and sending virtual gifts to their virtual, grown up ‘friends’? I’ll pause and let that question settle. I’m not sure why this issue is never brought up when people are talking about social media and professionalism.
Let’s face it, everyone likes to go out and cut loose every once in a while. From management to new hires, it’s all the same. For me specifically, that ‘once in awhile’ might be more than for some others, but that’s not the point. The point is that I look really good when I’m drinking. Like, better than when I’m wearing a tie and sitting up straight and there’s a lame photographer’s background behind me. Plus, if I had to untag all of the pictures of myself that were either taken at a bar or while intoxicated, I would be left with some throwback baby pictures and that’s about it.
So why would employers discourage the tagging of pictures where people are having fun? In our crazy, stressful, mixed up world, shouldn’t we be embracing the traits and activities that bond us together and make us human and condemning the activities that make us lame and weird? Sometimes I think the whole world has gone mad.
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