As communicators, we are constantly aware of our image or the image of organizations that we represent. We are concerned about our publics’ awareness, perception, and experience with us. This is getting harder and harder to manage with the plethora of channels that our image and messaging is being sent through. And now the lines are being blurred between our professional image and our personal image more so than ever before, just at this blog post by Todd Wasserman, “Should You Combine Your Personal and Business Social Media Identities?” showcases on twitter.
And it’s not just twitter. It is also very prevalent on LinkedIn, a platform beautifully made for recruiting and finding new employment – two similar, yet very different objectives from the perspective of the user. You may be a stellar employee, by leveraging your social media channels to secure new talent for your organization, or secretly planning your escape route from your current employment situation. All the while, working diligently to maintain YOUR own image… Whew!
Strategically Communicating 
Thanks for posting the Mashable article Carrie. This is something that I’ve run into recently as I’ve considered a change in scenery. I took an inventory of the online accounts in my possession and I was alarmed at how many of them are tied to my current job. Even if I am simply using my work email for a site like Flickr, there is still some intrusion of the professional life into the personal life. The ironic part of this is that merging personal and professional online tools is often done to simplify things. Instead, the merge can lead to complications if an employee leaves a company.
Personally, I am finding myself making an effort to keep my personal online personas (and email addresses) separate from that of the organization I represent. I wouldn’t want to surrender any of my personal online identity to an employer, and if my employer and I separated ways, I’m sure my employer would not be happy about trying to digitally retrieve assets that belong to the company from my personal accounts. Keep it separate, people!
By: mikebodinesayshello on April 23, 2012
at 10:42 pm