MindComet

The folly of youth…the agony of mistakes in social media

I recently posted on how social media is changing the game when it comes to reputation management. Social media is permanent and easily searched. Improper comments and verbal recounts or photos of last weekend’s debauchery WILL be there for everyone, including your employer to see. We are constantly hearing stories about adults who have later suffered the consequences of an irresponsible post on social platforms. And when we hear these stories, we instinctively say “that sucks, but, they should have known better”.

But what about teenagers?

Let’s be honest, we ALL made choices that we regretted when we were teens, myself included. However, over time, the memory of those mistakes faded, and we walked away with a valuable lesson. Nowadays, with social media, those mistakes can be broadcast to the world..and to boot, they are permanently archived. Bad decisions are quickly becoming scarlet letters that can, and will in many cases, affect today’s teenagers in their future endeavors.

The results of a recent survey of teenagers who participate in social networks are pretty disturbing.

* Over 60% of teenagers acknowledged that the things friends wrote in their profiles could harm their careers.
* 48% said they could be embarrassed by what they themselves wrote
* 38% said they regretted some of the items that had appeared on their pages already.

I’m reminded of the lyrics to “Kiss Off” by the Violent Femmes…

“I hope you know this will go down on your permanent record”

Unfortunate…but true.

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Posted by Jeremy Hilton on Apr. 17, 2009

Everyone must learn to walk differently

The Internet is everywhere.

Just 10 years ago, most Internet users logged in using a workstation or laptop from home or work. Our ability to access online data was constrained by location. You could carry around your laptop, but to access the web, you needed to be in the close proximity of a WiFi network.

Fast forward to today, and we’re accessing the web not just from workstation and laptops at our homes and work, but from integrated devices in our cars and small portable devices like mobile phones. These devices can connect to ubiquitous wireless networks, giving us access to the web virtually anywhere that we can make a cell phone call.

We are now able to pull content from the Internet without the constraint of location. Conversely, we’re able to push content to the Internet without the constraint of location, and do it VERY efficiently. For example, I can take a picture of myself in line at a store, post it to the Internet, and distribute the picture to my friends before I’ve even purchased the thing that I’m in line for. The technology behind this is very impressive. But, in my opinion, not because of what it allows you to do, rather, in how easily you can do it. 10 years ago, if I told you I could take that picture, and in a matter of seconds, distribute to my friends, you would have assumed that I was involved in cutting-edge technology. You would have been right! Today, this simply means that I own a commonly available tool and have signed up for some commonly available services.

The proliferation of access and sharing is a giant candy store in which I am a doughy-eyed kid. However there is an inherent danger to this technology. That danger comes in the form of reputation management.

As easily as I can take a picture of myself and distribute, I can take a picture of you and distribute. And what if you’re famous? What happens if that photo raises questions about your reputation?

Case in point, Bono from U2. He and a friend partied with some attractive younger women in St Tropez. The girls distributed to their friends by posting to their Facebook accounts and before you know it, the press and gossip hounds are having a field day by publishing the photos on their sites.

I’m sure that Bono, like many celebrities, has a team of people who are tasked with keeping him on firm ground by carefully managing his PR and reputation. However with technology and the proliferation of the Internet, the ground is shifting under his feet. In fact the ground is shifting under all of our feet. This isn’t limited to celebrities. Think of the stories you’ve heard of people not getting hired or even losing their jobs because of risque Facebook photos.

To adapt to this shift and not get tripped up, we all must to learn to walk differently. Always think about the photos and videos people are taking of you and where those images might end up .. Michael Phelps anyone? Be conscious of the things you post too. Maybe the photo of you hugging a toilet isn’t the best thing to share with the world.

I think that Seth Godin said it best with “... always act as if you’re on Candid Camera, because you are.“

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Posted by Jeremy Hilton on Mar. 18, 2009