Daily Prompt: The Social Networks
Do you feel like you “get” social media, or do you just use it because that’s where all your friends and family are?
This is a topic, I would have answered differently a few years ago then I do now. I filled out my Yahoo and Hotmail profiles it was for friends I had on those networks. Then when I first joined Facebook it was again to improve the connections with friends. However I have evolved to where my networks include people who I met through activities, and friends of friends.
I get social media and the ability to meet new people and keep in touch with those who we no longer see in life. I also get that companies today now check social media sites about employees and prospective employees. I have joined most of the major social networks, and most of the major free email services to control my name. Granted I’m not named John Smith, so it’s a bit easier. However in today’s social media driven world, and cyberspace connections, your name is your brand. You probably have all read stories about celebrities who have had phony accounts created in their names. Perhaps you have seen or know someone who has been attacked on Facebook, or had tweets about them that spread. Have you ever searched your name on Bing and Google to see what your name is attached to? Any bad posts about friends, co-workers, bosses or the company or companies you have worked for. Perhaps your looking for a job, and you forgot that last year you posted all those party pics from Vegas, or was it Mexico, all you remember is the credit card statement looked like a mistake, you couldn’t have drank that much.
So if you are going to use social media, you have to get one thing in my humble opinion. It’s your brand you are developing, how are you portraying yourself? Take control of your image, what are you portraying about yourself?
A Western Buddhist's Travels 
I Am…not a brand. Cattle and property are branded. I Am a flag (in sanskrit understanding).
I recently deleted and recreated my facebook profile for the sheer purpose of controlling my digital footprint. I had used a pseudonym before. I wanted to challenge myself to put together something I was happy my name was attached to, and didn’t want the dumb things I posted as a college freshman to come back to haunt me. I did the same thing when I deleted an old blog, and started up Zen and the Art of Teaching Junior High. I wanted to create work that I could happily put my name on and that I felt fully represented me.
Thank you for the reply, and for the examples of what I meant. I have a follow up post coming later today about our online image, which I am just polishing a little.
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