facebook

Ask permission first before posting photos of friends and colleagues online

June 29th, 2010 | Posted in Kudos & Blunders | No Comments
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The subject line in your e-mail account says a friend commented on a
photo of you on Facebook. You click to open it and the message is brief:
“Wow. That’s all I can say.” You don’t remember taking a
“wow” photo. So before you bother to open the list of similar
e-mail subject lines of comments on a photo, you feel compelled to stop
what you’re doing to log in to Facebook.
I don’t know about you, but every time I get an e-mail notifying me that someone has viewed a photo
of me on Facebook, I get an unsettling feeling. It doesn’t subside,
until I log onto the site and view what is usually a group photo at an
event.
With more than 400 million users, Facebook is among the most
trafficked websites in the world. According to the site’s stats, the
average user has 130 friends and creates more than 70 pages of content
each month, including updating posts and adding photos. Social
networking continues to grow fast, but too often common courtesy isn’t
on the radar.
Whether you adopt a real-world friends and former acquaintances only
policy, or an everyone welcome social networking policy, remember
what’s available online stays available.

Consider these gentle reminders and tips:

First and foremost, remember that the Internet is public space. Adjust
privacy settings, so that tagged photos are available to that person
only and not all of their friends. Even then, remember that photos are
often passed around by others.
Don’t tag photos of your friends that could get them in trouble.
Think about threatening someone’s job before adding drunken party
photos.
Ask permission before posting photos of your friends. Just because your
friend saw you snapping pictures in the comfort of a home or social
gathering, doesn’t mean they know an inappropriate or unflattering
photo might be linked to their name online. It could be embarrassing,
both personally and professionally.

Remember, what you consider an innocent photo with good intentions, could be highly upsetting to another party. What if you posted a photo of a co-workers child during a “take your child to work” day. Without seeking permission, you’d have no way of knowing that your colleague fervently opposes having their child’s photo posted online.

Pictures can only be manually removed by the person who posted it. But
they can be available to employers and peers for quite some time. If you
have any doubts about posting a photo, there’s always a quick remedy.
Ask first, then abide by their wishes.

Welcome to my new business etiquette blog: Kudos & Blunders

July 9th, 2009 | Posted in Kudos & Blunders | 4 Comments
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It’s taken me a while to enter the blogosphere. Two months after creating a new site, I’m finally getting going. Similar to the weekly business etiquette column I wrote for a few years at The Plain Dealer in Cleveland, I plan to get etiquette experts and other business professionals nationwide to weigh in with comments to questions.

With today’s troubled economy, there’s no better time to offer tools for business success. I’m looking forward to sharing smart career moves and business communication mistakes.

My goal is to blog once a week. Check back frequently or subscribe. I welcome questions and comments.

My first post is about social media. Social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter are blurring the lines between business and pleasure today. For some people, virtual tools are proving to be a great way to meet and greet other professionals. For others, missteps are happening. No doubt we need to have more conversations about how it can affect jobs and careers.

Q. How do I ensure that my virtual private life doesn’t interfere with my professional career?

A. Don’t put anything online that you wouldn’t want your mother or father to read. That advice should bode well for employers and future employers.

The bottom line is social media is going to continue to play a role in the way people build reputations and attract clients. That’s why the first thing cautious folks do is check out privacy settings on Facebook. That way some photos and information is for certain people’s eyes only.

But my theory is, if it’s online, it can be made public. Who knows, one of the people in a private group might decide to share.

Business etiquette expert Barbara Pachter said there’s a learning curve that comes with using new technology. Rarely does she have to remind people anymore to turn off cell phones in meetings, avoid all caps in e-mail or speak slowly when leaving phone messages. These technologies have been around for a while. But mistakes are rampant online, from posting offensive photos and videos on Facebook or YouTube to criticizing employers.

“One woman recently posted on her Facebook page, “Attending another stupid work meeting. Can’t wait to get to the bars!” People are still posting negative comments about their company or boss on social networking sites. You can get reprimanded or fired because of it. Why would you bite the hand that feeds you?