Upon embarking on this endeavour it was apparent very early on that everything is connected in some way, shape, or form, to everything else. Something which, in the world of communication, is great. Right? Perhaps, I found myself saying.
Recently there have been an abundance of people getting into trouble for what they put on their Facebook or Twitter. Jack Wilshere, for example, was fined by the FA for accusations made against a referee which he felt necessary to broadcast via Twitter to his 300,000+ followers and, perhaps, assume no one would be quite as bothered as they were.
Now suppose Jack Wilshere was a businessman and not a celebrity. Suppose he tweeted about a poor business meeting with a client and the conduct of the client in question; his tweet leaves his phone and ascends seamlessly into the maze of the world wide web. As with the actual Jack Wilshere, this is bad news. His defamatory, insulting, or just badly conducted actions are now out there for all his associates, partners, clients, friends, and anyone with a search engine, to find and broadcast on. Suddenly it seems what was an ill-thought act of frustration has become a personal PR crisis for Jack. And, what's more, for the client on the receiving end of said act of frustration. But this is still just on Twitter.
In the social media world, LinkedIn seems to be gathering considerable momentum and is proving to be a vital resource in networking and business dealings. For those of you who are on both LinkenIn and Twitter you will be aware of the ability to link these separate profiles to share information; tweets for example. Are you beginning to see where Jack is in a tight spot? His tweet is now listed on his LinkedIn profile; what was originally aimed at a single website is now on, what in some ways is considered, an online CV. The PR crisis of our fictional character escalates. Now suppose Jack is a popular professional in his field and his Twitter feed is listed on a hundred blogs from other professionals? Once again, the offending Tweet's presence is enhanced across the limitless internet.
The point I'm getting at is that, for better or worse, everything links to everything. What proves to be the blessing of social media and its simplicity of broadcast can equally prove to be its biggest curse. So often in discussions concerning Facebook people will object to the ease with which anyone is able to find out information about them. And that is only Facebook. Once one site links to another and to another then what is a mistake on one can become down-right unprofessional conduct in the greater sphere of online networking.
Admittedly we are all the governors of our own fate, so to speak, and should be very careful about what we Tweet, Link to or display on any social media site, but as governors of our own fate it also becomes painfully apparent of our own social fallibility; we make mistakes, we're human, but those mistakes are now broadcast across a range of sites, some of which we may not even have control over. This is a scary thought.
There is no argument here. I neither condone nor reject the multiplicity of networking sites and their inter-relation, and anyone reading this, no doubt, is already aware of the need for maximum professional conduct. My purpose is just to elaborate on what I have never seen discussed, the snowball effect of social media. What is a blessing to PR and marketing can prove to be a curse for the mistaken individual, I only hope I never fall foul of this magnifying glass of human error.
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