I first heard about the concept of radical transparency from the book of the same name. If you haven’t yet read this book, you need to. It offers a good model for deciding how open you want to be on the social networks. This is important to consider BEFORE you start taking part in social media.
(Not that you can’t always increase your transparency, though it is more difficult to throttle it back once you’ve shared more than you are comfortable with.) It’s important to understand your own personal sense of privacy and how that might be impacted by regular participation in the online networks.
I consider three levels of participation in the social media space. The first is oblique, which means you don’t really share much about yourself at all. You’re kind of a social media introvert. You might visit networks and read, but you don’t participate or share a lot about yourself. That’s one end of the spectrum.
The middle of the spectrum is someone who shares judiciously; with a plan. This might be someone who is comfortable sharing details of their professional life, mostly, but less so about their personal- or vice versa. (I guess this would depend on your profession, maybe…)
The other end of the spectrum is someone who shares everything all the time. This might include instances of too much information. It certainly is difficult to ‘erase’ any kind of negative sharing, so adopt this position widely, especially if you are planning to be involved with social networks on a more professional basis. I have worked with companies who routinely Google potential employees; and more than one once, a top candidate has dropped out of the running due to data found from social networks.
My favorite example of all time would have to be the applicant who said she was working so hard at her current job and was incredibly dedicated- but a quick online search turned up dozens and dozens of MySpace and Facebook pictures- all captioned with variations of “sitting here at work, with nothing to do.”
She didn’t get the job.
Whenever you enter a social networking site, or even leave a comment (as I am doing here!), you open a window into yourself. From my writing style, you can speculate on the level of education I might have, or even my profession (you might think that I had something to do in the writing field, or in a position where I communicated extensively). And while you may guess, you actually are looking past the exterior (with the profession) and into the interior (exposing an inner passion for writing/communication). It’s like dipping your toe into the water to test the temperature – you’re going to get wet… only YOU decide to what degree!
I think social networking sites are the greatest thing to come around! It’s like being at a party where the whole world is invited! You never know who you might meet, or who’s there, or who might show-up! And while I guard my most personal information quite carefully, there is so much you can share that it allows you to really get to know many people (virtually)! For example, Gregory sounds like a neat guy, and I’d love to exchange a few thoughts with him! Let’s see just how transparent we can be right here! How about it? Up for a little test?
Hello Ann! A pleasure to meet you! But I want to warn you, straight off – if you are one of those people who require the use of ALL of your brain, be very careful about giving me a piece of your mind!!! I am very guarded as to what I put out into cyberspace. What fascinates me are people like you… “devil-may-care” types who just put it all out there… not only does THAT frighten me, but people like YOU give me a little scare, as well! I’m even cautious as to THIS (or ANY) blog. I just know that something I say will come back to haunt me later! How do you do it???
I’m a little skeptical about these things. I mean, who’s looking at what I write? It could be my wife, my children, even my grandchildren! I’m not sure I want them to know me as well as I know myself. I think I’m safe, at the moment, because where I’m going on the internet is not where they’re going, so it is doubtful that we will ever run into each other. That’s the great thing about the internet. And that factor, alone, allows a person to be a bit transparent and not be afraid (like me!)