I’ve been thinking about this for a while, but even more so especially with articles like ‘Is Twitter Making You Immoral’ and ‘Nike iPod = Surveillance’ popping up.

Many professionals – and students – are creating new profiles for Facebook efforts, be they professional or academic. I’ve stumbled across several students and colleagues who have multiple profiles such as this. In Facebook it makes me wonder if people really understand (or set!) their many privacy settings.

In Twitter, I understand this more. As the masses join to see ‘what this Twitter thing is’, like it or not, more people you know are following you. Then, there comes a choice: to clean up your tweets or to go dark and create a new profile for being ‘you’.  🙂

I had conflicting thoughts on this as more and more people followed me and wanted to be Facebook friends, I wondered about the potential set backs. Mom reading your Facebook shenanigans. Dates becoming stalkers. Co-workers bringing up your frequent love of BK Whoppers w/cheese  at 2am. Muddy waters.

Personally, I’ve decided that I’m ok with keeping my business out there and letting the chips fall where they may. Obviously, I set privacy settings and profile limitations for co-workers and those that I know outside of professional ways where available. But, as per the rest, my decision is to be ‘me’. I find I learn more that way and have much deeper relationships with those that I may not know ‘IRL’.  In order to get anything out of social media, I feel, you cant remain professional with no personality. I am more than just my job.

Muddier waters come with the other social communities surrounding activities. Do you want everyone to know you run a certain loop every morning at 5am via your iPod Nike Plus  or imapmyrun? Hmm. Maybe your Facebook pictures are at your favorite local place and people could just ‘show up’. Your iPhone displays your location via Loopt or Twitter. Food for thought, but not for worry.

Or is it? The fear of pedophiles on MySpace, and the  ‘Craigslist Killer‘ fiasco it leaves a stain on social media in a sense. For those who use the net to meet people – no matter what the venue – it feeds the fear of those who dont understand it.  Are these isolated, well publicized issues really as scary as they seem or are they more visible now due to our instant connection to news? How many similar incidents are occurring that have no net related implication?

I guess the bottom line here is to be authentic and safe. What are your thoughts on openness vs. anonymity and safety vs fear?

In my own spiritual journey, I’ve found that Native American and other tribal followings are most meaningful to me. One reading that helped me think about being ‘present in the moment’ was don Migel Ruiz’s ‘The Four Agreements’.

The Four Agreements mimic what to me are great tenets to live by, not only in daily life but also in social media strategy.

1. Be Impeccable with Your Word: this to me means using social media for what it was intended. To connect with others and be yourself at all times. Not to push or market, but to engage and be of service. Provide what is truthful about your brand/service and allow for transparency in your interactions.

2. Dont Take Anything Personally: There will always be those people who like to be negative and to be heard. Reactions to this may cause more issue than good. By allowing for disagreements or dissatisfaction in your social media efforts, you not only strengthen the authenticity of your offering, but you give space to reality – not everyone will be sunshine and lollipops over you all the time. Why suffer any worry about things you cannot change? Know the difference between disgruntlement and general peeves that you can affect in your brand. Use this to learn, not to stifle.

3. Dont Make Assumptions: This may be one of the biggest lessons. Many assume social media is the answer to their larger problem (customers, yield, etc.) but may not think of the smaller communication issues or problems with service. Social media may not be the answer to your problem, particularly if you cannot pinpoint the exact issue. You can also not assume that the medium will be fully used in the way you intended. This is something to learn from and use to make communication and products better. Provide for your audience, dont make them fit into your mold of what ‘should’ be.

4. Always Do Your Best: How many social media efforts have been left to perish because providing ‘the best’ was not in the plan? Social media cannot live on their own. They need to be fed and publicized, updated and possibly rewarded. Starting without a plan is not doing your best, it is simply ‘doing’. Be sure that what you plan to offer is continually your best if you expect to see any positive returns. Remember that what you put out there will be out there for good in the minds of those who are engaged. No matter how few. By doing your best you ensure the few that partake are provided the real brand experience and not a test.

I’ve noticed lately that several people in my life have multiple personality disorders: two or more Facebook profiles. When I ask them why they do this, it’s always because they want to be friends with people, but not allow them to see certain things on in their profile.  I then walk them through my post about how to protect your privacy on Facebook, but by that point, its too late. They’ve already accepted and communicated with people via the alias.

I wonder why so many people have such little knowledge of Facebook’s great privacy provisions? People are willing to post and share their most personal details but not to protect it. This has only been made more apparent by the recent turmoil over Facebook’s new Terms of Service.

Privacy is something that proves more allusive the more inclusive you get. Its made even more so when you provide information online, where it potentially lives forever and can be reproduced by whomever. With more and more people following you on Twitter or requesting Facebook friendship, I think its time to ask yourself ‘how much privacy do I want?’.

I recently discovered that more and more people from my job are following me on Twitter and asking to be added on Facebook.  Facebook was easy, because a ‘limited profile’ option has already been set up. Twitter is the one area that caused a minor panic.

I decided that the things I say on Twitter are who I am, they are nothing new or out of left field if you know me. It is not my job and my job is not who I am. Becoming more personal via Twitter has opened up much more for me in the way of communication than a strict ‘business only’ mentality has. “Practice what you preach” came to mind regarding transparency. Therefore, I decided to let the Twitter chips fall where they may, and only clean up my work related rants. 🙂

How has privacy, Facebook/Twitter or otherwise been an issue for you personally and/or professionally? Do you experience the same people with multiple profiles?