Twitter & Facebook – Your Financial Ruin

No question Twitter came like a bombshell, and Facebook is the most popular networking site in the whole wide world, yet I consider both to be very dangerous. I am not blaming anyone for using these sites – I myself do that – but the way some people handle it is just scary.

Knowing of at least 2 cases where people got fired from a company shows me that this is a topic that should be discussed actively. First of all, neither Twitter, nor Facebook is something private. You are smart enough to know that, but I promise you would not want to take a look at the live feed of my friends at FB. Some tweets – that is the act of posting something on Twitter – are just more insane.

Wrecking Own Career

It’s no surprise that companies, as well as colleges, and universities take a look at online profiles of their applicants. Knowing that should make clear that vulgar language, inappropriate content, or other nonsense – as I see it every single day – is not career-enhancing. Make yourself aware how much damage one little message could cause, even if it’s just a misplaced message from one of your friends on your profile page.

Don’t get me wrong, social networking is – as the term itself says – a way to maintain and build relationships. Done in the right way it can be very effective, and useful, but unfortunately some do not have a clue how to use such tools.

It’s literally hard not to find the above-mentioned vulgar language, inappropriate content, or any other nonsense. How do you see that? Are people that you see online aware of the risks?

Probably the best example that proves my statement is a recent incident involving singer Chris Brown. Even though he is a famous person, and Twitter not a private chat, he had no concerns writing what he thinks.

Chris Brown's Twitter account is no more.

Just hours after publishing these statements: account deletion. Probably an order from his advisors, however, it clearly shows how one can mess up. Fans and followers might not like this decision. Writing about what you think is for sure a part of this kind of sites, nevertheless, one should know when to keep quiet. Again, social networking: responsibility and adequate use of language are recommended.

Time Is Money – Not On The Internet!

Social networking sites depend on the user participation. Thousands of new tweets, messages, and so on are being published every second. One is literally flooded with new, and most likely irrelevant information.

Additionally, most of the time it is impossible to check if a statement is correct or just a lie. Nobody wants to know about a certain disease, or depressions a person has. Be careful when searching for information on those sites.

Note: If you want to be ineffective, just open Twitter and wait for the next tweet to distract you from work. I’m not actually recommending this idea, it’s actually a better not to get in touch with Twitter, or Facebook while working.

Once you are in, it's really tough to quit.

Use Wikipedia, or other well know resources to find information online, not those two social networking sites. That way you will find more relevant information, and you don’t need that much time to check its trueness.

Hidden Costs

Since both, Twitter and Facebook, are offering a way to use their services via mobile phone, mobile usage has become a popular way of communication. In most cases using social networking sites on the computer is cheaper than on the mobile phone since internet flatrates are very common nowadays.

So once you want to start twittering, check your mobile phone contract to see how much it would cost you to do so. After all, the hidden dangers of those sites shall not be underestimated.

Burning money: Better check, seriously.

An unlimited plan is probably the best option in case you use twitter a lot via mobile phone. However, make sure to check what using certain services on your cell phone, such as Twitter and FB, would cost you. Skipping this part can cause big trouble.

Use The Force Of Twitter And Co

There is a large gap between the two sites and how you can use them. Darren Rowse from Problogger wrote a very interesting article that covers pretty much all information needed to use Twitter as an effective tool. In fact there are even more possibilities: from hiring people via Twitter to receiving valuable feedback – almost everything is possible.

Facebook, unlike Twitter, is a great tool for branding. Not only building a business brand, but also a personal one. Let’s say you want to work for a non-governmental organization.

Now, would there be a better way to promote yourself than by uploading photos of you volunteering somewhere in Africa? I guess not. Of course this method does work when you have tons of other images showing you drunk.

Facebook – Business and Private

Using Facebook for business purposes (see also here) is different from the private usage. I am applying the following rules on my private account:

• I only accept people as friends that I have talked to in real life.
• Images can only be seen by friends (not by their friends).
• I only post important news on my wall (e.g. event I’m attending).
• Never have I used an application on Facebook and I’m not going to.
• Profile can only be seen by friends, not personal information is entered.

I admit that sometimes it is really difficult to draw the line between private and business, it’s even harder if you are a well-known personality.

On the other hand there are probably less than a handful of people that can allow themselves everything without any consequences on their job or business.

You And Social Networking

What are your experiences with sites like this? Are you using them for your business, or just for fun?