When too much really is too much

Image by Index Photograph. Used under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic

I was talking to a writer friend recently about a freelancer of our acquaintance and the topic of openness. The person in question tended – shall I say – to be a bit too explicitly personal in her Twitter postings. Although neither of us had ever met her in person – it was after all a social “media” acquaintance – we had gotten a pretty intimate view of certain aspects of her life.

That got me to thinking when is too much too much?  These days the cliché “too much information!” comes to mind on a nearly daily basis.

My friend was concerned that the young lady’s twittering might prove detrimental to her career – she was a freelancer after all. Who knows how many clients were reading these posts and being turned off without giving her chance.

Obviously, reality TV and the likes of Jerry Springer have made keeping anything private – no matter how embarrassing – seem so, well, 19th Century Victorian. In fact, the more extravagant the misdeed the better and the more likely it could make you a star or an in demand book author (good news for ghost writers). 

In fact, campaigning for a spot on a reality show is something you plan your life around. If you’re the parents of a balloon boy or crashed a White House dinner – all the better for your chances. If it isn’t already, reality show contestant should be a job category – and one with true growth potential.

It wasn’t always like that. We former office workers remember the days when revealing too much was a much more local affair. There was the young lady with ample cleavage on display or the guy who couldn’t stop talking about his many, many, many feminine conquests. Relatively few ordinary people thought about leveraging their mistakes into media attention and that was a good thing.

Unless you’re aspiring to join the Real Housewives of New Jersey, looking bad may not be so good. Social media of every kind has given us all the means to project our talents, opinions and foibles far and wide. Where once our bad taste might have been limited to a few friends, family and co-workers we can now build a sizable platform from which to expose ourselves.

This ability can outpace your better judgment. Some people have discovered that employers troll social media sites looking for background data on job applicants. Facebook posts and funny pictures can solidify opinions long before you ever show up in your best business suit.

Just as businesses are careful about the image they project to the public, freelancers need to be conscious of what they’re saying to their customers as well. If provocative statements are part of your image then by all means keep writing those attention grabbing Twitter posts. If they aren’t something you want clients to read then don’t. And, save your misdeeds, tall tales, and bad taste for the home office. The dog won’t care and the public will never know.

Too Many People Are Doin’ That Social Media Rant

 

Image by Flickr user smileham. Creative Commons Noncommercial 2.0 Generic.

It’s hard not to be taken aback when you come upon somebody yelling at another person. You feel kind of embarrassed for the recipient of the tirade and maybe you wonder what could have produced the vitriol.

That these scenes are increasingly taking place virtually on social media sites such as LinkedIn doesn’t make them any less pleasant to watch.  As one of the biggest networking sites for professionals it has about 48 million members. Many form and join groups devoted to their professions or interests where they can start discussions, posts news and hopefully meet like-minded professionals.

This time a  member took exception to a link that another had posted and launched a lengthy and sometimes insulting rant. It seems that the article at the end of the link didn’t deliver all that the author had promised and links within the story weren’t working. Although these might be  legitimate criticisms, he didn’t stop there. He kept going for a number of paragraphs questioning both the intelligence and ethics of the poster.

It’s not the first time supposed colleagues have unloaded on each other. And, it was  milder than many I’ve witnessed.

Bashing another professional – in public and on the Web – is a good example of the inappropriate uses of social media. A lot has been written lately about how posting  compromising  pictures on Facebook or talking about your sex life on Twitter can hurt you professionally. And, we all know that firing off an intemperate e-mail to the boss is not a good idea.

Now add rants against your colleagues to that list.

I’m not here to suggest that we should all just get along and play nice. That’s not the way a lot of people operate in our society.  These days bad manners are the norm for a great many people. Check the comments section of most any news related website and you’ll find an abundance of extreme hate-filled speech – usually expressed in a semi-literate fashion. Cable talk show hosts seem to think they can say anything on air no matter how wild or false. There’s road rage and parents who can’t stop yelling at their kids.  A lot of people need better anger management skills and a clearer conception of what is and isn’t appropriate.

Social media provides those who enjoy channeling their inner Howard Beal with a way of reaching more people than ever before. Behind the shield of the Internet they can say pretty much anything they want without fear of a punch in the mouth. A couple of years ago the online forums of a national writers organization was plagued by a tiny group that was at the center of an ongoing flame war. One would launch an attack against another member, the target would react,  and the others would quickly join in. While occasionally entertaining to watch, it created a poisonous atmosphere that discouraged less combative members from posting and even seemed to prompt a few people to quit. Eventually, the ring leader was suspended for other misconduct and after a lot of huffing and puffing the rest of the gang faded away.

These folks are what  they are. The rest of us should be more concerned about the image we express to the world – and potential clients and employers.

The LinkedIn ranter probably just created some ill will with a fellow freelancer he doesn’t know. Yet, posting your less than ideal side on the Web can reach far beyond those directly involved. The words and images we place in cyberspace often don’t just go away. They linger on and a potential client or employer reading those heated words might decide to pass on your services – why take the risk?

We all have a bad day or several of them every now and then. Sometimes people do post  inane or uninformed opinions on social media. Verbally abusing someone on the other side of the country might seem like an easy way to let off steam. (It’s better than kicking the dog or your spouse I guess.) On the other hand, you don’t really know what the consequences might be. At the very least you won’t look very professional and you’ll probably have at least one more enemy.

Thank about that for a while and after you compose that next rant click delete instead of send.

Does Twittertown Need a New Sheriff?

I’ve only been a regular Twitter user for a few months, but I’m already a veteran…spam target.

It’s no longer just about tweeting my thoughts and re-tweeting interesting posts by others. Now a good bit of my time is spend in responding to offers to make $300 a day or get 300 new followers – I’m not sure which. Then there are the busty nude women who want me to view their equally nude pictures. Just click this link.

On Twitter you’ll also find that celebrity you just followed – along with 10,000 others – is an impersonator.  So much for the inside scoop straight from the star’s mouth.

I’ve always taken Twitter seriously, so I don’t auto follow anyone. Instead, since I’m actually interested in what you have to say, I check out a new follower, read your posts, and see if you’re someone I’d like to follow. All too often I don’t. Recently I’ve gotten dozens of follows from tweeters who oddly enough all have the same five tweets in their stream. And, the top one is always that link to a new money making opportunity.

I seldom see spam in my e-mail inbox anymore. That’s thanks to better filters and the movement of tricksters, porn merchants and spammers over to Twitter and other social media sites.

The sheer volume of this spam traffic poses a threat to the community that Twitter has sought to build. Fighting spam isn’t cheap. One survey found that spam costs business about $21.58 billion in lost productivity annually. While it’s harder to gauge, Twitter users also suffer the lost time and frustration of dealing with a swarm of spam followers.

The more Twitter is dominated by spam, the more it tends to drive out legitimate users. Some people don’t want to venture into an X-rated wilderness. And, if you can’t trust the links you’re being sent even when they appear legit, maybe you’ll decide that Twitter isn’t for you.

So what should we as users do about spammers?

You can always ignore them. By not following back spammers you generally don’t have to see them (although some have taken to sending DMs or direct messages), but they could still be hurting you. “I want a quality follow list. I figure that everything associated with my Twitter account reflects on me,” says writer and cartoonist Debbie Ridpath Ohi (@inkyelbows) in a recent blog post, On Twitterspam, Followers and Culling.

I know Twitter has been making efforts to root out the spam. The company has even added “spam marshals.” A while back many users saw their follower numbers plunge as a horde of spammer bit the dust.

These are all good moves, but there are actions we can take on our own.

Use the spam button. When you find those identical tweets look down the right hand column for the report for spam link. Clicking this link blocks the spammer and notifies Twitter about the problem.

Know your links. Don’t venture into the no man’s land of spam by clicking on links in tweets from people you don’t know. If it looks like spam it probably is spam.

While you’re at it warn others to be wary of the spammers in their midst. And, one more thing, let Twitter know that you’ve noticed all the spam and you want them to do something about it as well. This isn’t the Wild West anymore and we need a new sheriff in town.

The horror of Facebook: should you flee social media?

Perusing your friend’s Facebook page you may have come across the things that caused you to stop and think, “I don’t know if I would have posted that!” Like those camera phone photos of your buddy drunk, unconscious and a funny picture painted on his face or that near topless shot of your friend’s daughter. Then there are the arguments in which perfectly normal people are suddenly transformed into on-line Fox News screamers.

A great deal of ink (both real and virtual) has been spilled recently bemoaning how social media is souring real friendships, wasting time, and even getting people fired. Some are telling us there’s even an exodus of folks fleeing the site out of boredom or horror. One former user compares the site to the repressive communist regime in North Korea while selling T-shirts with the message “Shut your Facebook!” (He confides that his mom told him Facebook was the work of the devil.)

If you’re like me you probably find all this just a little bit overwrought. Like every other “new thing” Facebook – and other social media for that matter – is beginning to mature and for some that means they smell rot. People who spent hours doing status updates, viewing videos and filling out inane quizzes to determine “what Twilight character they resemble” are suddenly feeling bored and maybe a little cheated.

Facebook and all virtual relationships aren’t the same as real live personal relationships, but in some cases we might all be better off if we acted as if they were. Then we probably wouldn’t be saying and posting some of the things that get us into trouble.

Think before you Facebook

Behind the protective shield of an internet connection many people tend to say things to people that they’d think twice about before uttering in person. Words can be hurtful, both to the feeling of your friends and to your economic wellbeing if intemperate comments are directed at an employer. While you may be able to plausibly deny an off hand comment made over the water cooler, Facebook posts live on forever.

Companies these days aren’t just looking at resumes, but they’re also searching the web to dig up information on perspective hires. One study found that 45% of employers now screen social media sites. The report goes on to say that, “thirty-five percent of employers reported they have found content on social networking sites that caused them not to hire the candidate.”

Privacy ain’t what it used to be.

Of course many people are aware that vast amounts of information about us is already held by large companies and perhaps the government as well. Credit card firms carefully monitor your purchases and make judgments about your credit worthiness based on where you shop. The frugal woman who makes a few buys at a thrift store can find her credit line reduced because an algorithm deems people who shop there “high risk.”  

There’s only a small amount of information that you can really control  – like your daily Facebook status update. That means don’t create situations that you’re likely to regret. I’m not saying everyone should be frightened into silence on the web. No, far from it. Just think about whether you’re saying something that you want to stand up for down the road. A well reasoned defense of healthcare reform is one thing. A video of you drunk and dancing with a lamp shade on your head is quite another. A political essay can say you think about issues even to those who might disagree. A lampshade will only make viewers question whether you think at all.

How to make sure Twitter isn’t a time waster

“Why should I care what someone had for lunch,” Maxine asked me at a recent writer’s luncheon. “And, why should they care what I ate?”

She was talking about Twitter that social media sensation. What good is it? From her perspective most people just seem to tweet about mundane personal activities such as the quality of the rigatoni. Why should that interest me, she wanted to know, and how is that going to help my business?

Now understand, Maxine is one of the most successful and talented authors I know. She’s published numerous books and articles. She’s serious about her writing as both a craft and business and that’s reflected in an impressive body of published work. She’s also no technophobe as she uses LinkedIn and other web tools. It’s just that constant tweeting that she can’t understand.

 I Twitter regularly so I know social media certainly has the potential to be a tremendous waste of time. It’s easy to compose tweets when you could be polishing a story or sending out a query. There’s nothing magical about these 140-word messages, but it is a tool and it can be a good one for branding and promoting yourself and what you do. To ensure that it’s not a time waser here  are some rules of Twitter that I’ve found work for me.

Before even opening up Twitter you should be asking: what am I accomplishing? If it’s just recreation to keep up with pals then don’t worry about it.  If you’re a serious freelancer you probably want more and here are a few reasons that Twitter may be a boost to your career.

Twitter is a 140 word microblog.

Here at Southwrite I can go on as long as I want – and probably too long – to make a point. On Twitter you have to get to the point and make it interesting. That’s a powerful discipline which can transfer over to your other writing.

Thomas Nelson Inc. CEO Michael Hyatt tweets for more than 35,000 followers and is consistently interesting. He calls it “a backstage pass to my life” through which he promotes his blog posts, shares interesting links and notes his daily running discipline. Clearly he has a large and devoted following that cares about the highpoints of his professional and personal life.

Tweet Your Network

For the freelancer who spends most of his or her time in a home office it’s a way of reaching out to people around the world. Sure, it’s a rather limited conversation sometimes, but it’s still an effective way to build relationships with people you might otherwise never communicate with on a regular basis.

You can build those contacts and then use them as you would face-to-face networking. The people you follow and in turn follow you can help you to find work, a source or a piece of information. They can also support you. I’ll tweet about this blog when it’s posted. I’ll do shoutouts on other things I’ve accomplished because as we know self promotion is usually the only kind we may be getting.

Make Twitter Useful

Of course, Twitter is only as useful as you make it. If you’re only answering the question what are you doing then most people aren’t going to find your tweets very interesting. Unless, of course, you’re embedded with an Army infantry company on the streets of Bagdad. Provide material that is of value to your followers. Just as with any publication people will ask “what’s in it for me?” If you can answer their question with important links, incisive observations and witty quotes then I think you’ll gain lots of followers.

As for my own tweets, I also share some of the high and low points of my life, but I promise they won’t involve food.

“Help, I was mugged in London and need $900 to get home!”

While I was enjoying a blissfully unplugged Saturday morning, that was the substance of on-line conversations between several of my friends and…me. Yes, each of them was being contacted through my Facebook account with a dire message: I need your help. Can you send money?” Someone had hacked into my account, and used social media to assume my identity.

The ploy unraveled because most people knew I was at home in Atlanta – that was on Facebook too. When one friend raised that point, “I” abruptly logged off.

This particular scam – lame as it seems – is more common than you might think. So common that Facebook has a special section devoted to “419” or Advance Fee Fraud scams which you can read about here.

Deceptions designed to separate us from our money are commonplace and some have an extraordinarily long life span. Over the past 20 years, I’ve gotten numerous letters from Nigeria written by a wealthy foreigner who promises a big cut if I will only help in moving several millions dollars out of the county. All I need to do is put a small amount of money to facilitate the move…  First they arrived by snail mail, but since then the Nigerians got a fax machine and finally e-mail.

Over the years the gullible have turned over at least $100 million in a quest for these riches. Maybe it’s an inclination toward magical thinking that makes so many vulnerable to the “too good to be true” scam. Even the sophisticated fall for it – think Bernie Madoff and his wealthy victims.

Now the scammers have invaded social media with the same objective. Phony Facebook pages pop up in the name of a well known author complete with links to purchase books. While that’s still rare, what happened to me is much more common. 

You probably never though of someone hacking into your social media such as Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter and assuming your identity. Perhaps it’s time you did because the number of incidents is clearly growing and it’s hard to say who will be next. Here are some simple steps you can take that will reduce your risk:

• Change your password on a regular basis and make it hard to guess. Avoid obvious ones such as name or “password.” We should all know this by now, but many people don’t want to be bothered. Passwords that combine random letters and numbers are best.
• Keep your anti-virus software up to date and run regular scans to detect malware and other malicious viruses. Hackers can gain access through e-mail addresses associated with the social media. Facebook has a list of free antivirus programs and other useful programs.
• If you receive spam from a friend’s account don’t click on any links unless you’re sure of where they will take you.
• Keep an eye on your social media. If you see unusual activity on someone’s Facebook or MySpace page report it.

You’re probably wondering if anyone actually fell for this scam. Fortunately not. When my graphic designer friend Lynae called to alert me to what was happening she observed, “Don’t worry. Most of your friends are artists, so they don’t have any money.”  That was reassuring I guess.

How to be a productive freelancer without giving up Twitter or Starbucks

Image by Flickr user tonx. Used under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic.

Virtually every freelancer who was once an office drone knows that he’s getting more done on his own than he ever did in a cube. We were only too happy to say goodbye to the endless meetings and the talkative co-worker next door.

Yet, we also found that a home office has it own time wasting traps. How many of us have gotten to day’s end with little to show. Oh, sure, we tweeted on Twitter, we commented on a Facebook friend’s status, and we cruised Starbucks, but did we finish that assignment?  If not, then we need to look at how we work, what distracts us, and how we can make those distractions help us.

The secret to productivity is to always keep the big picture in mind. Ask yourself: what is my purpose? The bottom line is completing assignments – writing a feature article, finishing a newsletter design or other task. The productive freelancer doesn’t ask ‘what should I do today?’ Instead the question is ‘what do I accomplish?’ The next question is how can I use the tools at my disposal to get to those finished projects?

Fortunately the very things – like Twitter, e-mail, and the like –  that waste our time can also make us more productive. That is if we manage them rather than letting them control us and our time.

1. Restrict your social media calories. Schedule specific times during the day to log onto Twitter or Facebook rather than checking in constantly. Ask yourself what am I trying to get out of each session. Is it to find a source, or a new client? Is to learn more about a particular trend or company? Don’t log on if you don’t have a purpose in mind. 

2. Reset your e-mail clock. The Post Office doesn’t deliver mail every minute and you don’t need to see every message as soon as it arrives. Reset Outlook’s automatic send/receive option to a long interval – say an hour or more. And, turn off the funny sound and icon so they don’t disturb your concentration. If you just have to be available for client e-mail make sure that only true business messages are arriving in your primary mail account. Create a separate Hotmail or Yahoo account for all those newsletter, Facebook and Twitter announcements so they don’t become part of the work day.

3. Make working an appointment. Block out time in your Outlook calendar for work just as you do a client appointment. Set 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. as a “writing appointment.” Then maybe follow it with “Check Facebook 10:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.

 4. Keep regular hours. I know most of us became freelancers so we could set our own hours. We all work best when we pay attention to our individual internal clock. Whether you’re up at 6 a.m. or just getting started at midnight, lock in specific hours that you’re at your desk doing what needs doing. Then stick to your work day/night — whatever those times are for you.

 5. Use technology that works for you – even if it’s not cool. Sure an iPhone is uber-neat technology, but do you really need one? Will a plain old cell phone work just as well? Letting others be trendsetters provides you with more opportunities to do real work. Do you really need a fancy time management program to record your billable hours or will a plain old legal pad do? Setting up software programs can consume more time than they save.

6. Get out of the office on a regular basis. In the beginning of this article I mentioned that daily trip to the coffee shop.  I know the critics say it’s a waste to pay for an overpriced cup of coffee, but there’s more in that cup than java, so don’t give it up. Getting out of the house will provide that change of scene that can re-energize you for more work – not to mention the effects of a shot of caffeine.

Put these suggestions to work and you can tame the technology beast, get more done and still have time for the pleasures that self-employment offers.