Just when you thought you were out, it pulls you back in.
With all apologies to Michael Corleone, the line fits perfectly this 21st Century slam against ones reputation, image, personal and corporate branding, even right down to the profitability in businesses of every size.
The deep, dark and sometimes dank black hole that is the dreaded SOCIAL MEDIA MEMORY.
Didn't mean to yell there, but often when this conversation crops up, it seems people don’t fully grasp what’s happening here unless you RAISE YOUR VOICE, either in real-life or textually as we have done here.
I will guarantee that every single one of you reading this commentary has at least one social media account. Most of you have multiple accounts, as the majority of people do for both business and pleasure. I raise my hand and admit to being one of those in the “multiple”
category.
I will then also guarantee, and while some of you may debate the point, that most of you have written, uploaded, attached or posted something on at least one of those accounts that if you were to have it smack you in the face right now, your first reaction would be, and this time the yelling fits, “WHAT THE @#$%^&! WAS I THINKING???”
Your next move would be to hustle up and find a way to delete it from all existent social media memory, satisfied that you caught the offending issue on time, nipped it in the bud, and it will disappear forever into that cold dank night of the vanished.
Nope.
With a world’s worth of eyeballs and judgmental opinions hanging out there just waiting for something to cross their screen that can be argued about and tinkled on, you have posted something that will enrage someone.
Guaranteed.
Social media has a long memory. Who you are, what you believe, why you have a certain opinion, right there for anyone to find. All it takes is a little searching, some simple internet digging, and that one moment you went off on something controversial is going to be found.
Take a breath. Inhale. Exhale. We all make foolish mistakes, and we all have something we’ve said in our background we wish we could take back, erase, toss into the air and never see it again. Since we know that’s not possible, what do we do?
The answers sound simple. but there is some inherent risk and, without question, you need to confront the likelihood something will snap back at you, sooner or later. Best to be prepared for it, and if it never occurs, consider yourself incredibly fortunate. Someone will look you up.
Count on it.
Here then is the requisite and always popular “Top 5” list for what to do right now. Let’s take them in a suggested order.
Take stock of all your social media accounts. Yes, this is going to take the most time, but it’s worth it. Scroll back over your posts for at least a year, (I didn’t say this was going to be easy, but once the damage is done you have to take charge in fixing it), and delete anything that could be controversial, or could be taken “the wrong way” by anyone. You know exactly what I’m talking about. In my speaking appearances, we dig a lot deeper into this, but you have to start somewhere.
I noted at “least a year”, but you may want to consider going even deeper into the time capsule. That depends on the form of social media and how much you post. Some forms of social media are primed for you to have an immediate “knee jerk” opinion on something. Those are the ones that often will be the greatest offenders. Delete them. Don’t hesitate. Don’t ponder. You don’t need them anymore. This is your reputation at stake.
Prepare your reaction & apology when confronted with something you’ve posted that puts you in a bind, casts a negative light on your reputation, and gives people ammunition to question who you really are. Yes, I wrote “apology”. Get ready to back up and explain what you did at the time you did it. Take responsibility for it, don’t blame social media or “hackers” or any other such nonsense. Own it. That apologize for it. Now, if you truly believe in something and don’t feel you need to say you’re sorry, that’s your take and you will live with it. However, remember what I wrote about someone, somewhere, being offended. They can take their opinion of you and spread it wide and far. You may never recover your image. Again, in my speaking engagements, this creates plenty of excellent discussion.
Step AWAY from the keyboard. Here’s where you get to make your break. You must teach yourself to have the restraint and not comment on every single thing you see or read. There’s that “knee jerK’ I talked about earlier and what every social media platform relies on, the hope that you just cannot stand reading and not sharing your two, three or more cents. Start with a clean slate. THINK before you pound away. This took me some time to master, but it is possible. You don’t have to comment on everything, or anything, for that matter. Pick your spots. Pick your battle. Be smarter.
Never forget that when you hit “SEND”, the world will see it. Yes, the WORLD. OK, maybe not everything you write or post, but it’s out there for everyone on the planet to see at every and any time. This means more than just your neighbor, or the kid you went to grade school with. It means your employer, your team at work, your clients, everyone you come into contact with, has either praise or ammunition, and you provided it. And even if you post it and then come back in a short time to delete it, all it takes is seconds for what you wrote to cross a feed and someone to make a screenshot of it. It thus will NEVER go away. It will live forever. So will the opinions others will have of you supported by your own words, pictures and videos.
Every speaking engagement I produce, this topic is part of the discussion. It spans from corporate success on the professional level to personal success in everyday life. It is always a robust debate, one of my favorite parts of the show. Here’s hoping we get to spend that time together and make it all work.
In the meantime, remember.
Step AWAY from the keyboard. Think before you speak or write. Be smarter than the rest, and protect that image and reputation with every single thing you do.
Take it from one who has been in those shoes.
Now, those are stories we’ll share in person.
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