Posted by Brian McCullough
Chalk this up as another inevitability of our age.
Ever since social networks have been around, they’ve sort of been like the music your parents wouldn’t like because the music was too loud. You could post pictures from your keg party because you knew no one of any authority or importance would know how to/be interested enough to seek out that stuff.
But like good adults trying not to be “square,” everyone and my mother is now trying to “get” social networking. This means your boss is now on Facebook with you. What do you do now? How does your Facebooking have to change?
We’ve written before about the perils of social networking intersecting with your professional life. A young writer at the times (UK) faced exactly this issue. His assessment: when the adults show up, the party’s mostly over.
Soon I had to justify my choice of Anchorman and Zoolander as favourite films. I realised that once you admit a love of silly Will Ferrell films, bosses might doubt your professional judgment too.
My profile had to change, and so did my online behaviour. My favourite hobbies no longer included “working up a sweat, cooking up a storm”. In fact, I quickly had no hobbies, musical or cinematic preferences at all. I was quick to “detag” any compromising photographs posted by others as I didn’t want anyone to think that I had too much fun or was too much fun to be taken seriously.
What do you think? If your boss friended you on Facebook tomorrow, what would you do to your profile before linking up?
My online life: no hobbies, no opinions, no friends, no fun (TimesOnline)
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