Jim Connolly‘s post on WebProNews today, Remember Who can Read Your Tweets, is a great reminder that whatever is said on social media is not only part of your permanent record, it’s probably also something that potential customers actively look at. Jim has an especially good example:
I used to follow someone, who was always tweeting about how stupid his clients were. He never named them, but would tweet what he called the stupid questions they were asking him. In other words, any of his clients reading his twitter stream, would know he was insulting them, from the questions he was making fun of with his friends. Is he free to do that if he wants to? Yes (thankfully). Would I recommend him to one of my clients or contacts, knowing he may insult them in that way? Not a chance! – Remember Who Can Read Your Tweets by Jim Connolly (WebProNews)
Young adults have been struggling with this problem for a few years — youthful indiscretions often popup in searches made by recruiters. Now that social media is much more prevalently used by companies as well as consumers looking for information to guide their purchase decisions, what is said online can have a definitely impact on future sales. There’s still something to be said for having a personality and being personable online, but keep in mind that anyone, including potential clients can see what you’re saying (and have said).