The Not So Freedom of Speech Social Media

LEARN TO NOT BE SO FREE

Social media has become the norm for communication, job searches, entertainment and news updates, and opining differences in viewpoints. The Internet buzz has become so overwhelming that there are special tools to provide insight on every social media interaction, frequently used by businesses to track "brand" love but more often used by employers to track whereabouts and opinions of employees.
 
It requires self-imposed discipline to not speak (type) so freely in the following situations:

1). Human Rights Concerns: Gone are the days you can respectfully disagree with others' beliefs on certain topics. One statement that you don't understand a belief opposite than yours turns into imposed fines and sensitivity training. For those that believe in the topic, they can speak boldly with no consequence. Double standard, yes! But until you have Warren Buffet, Bill Gates, or Oprah Winfrey money, stay away from these public social media opinions.
2). Employer Related Woes: No matter how horrible the employer, manager, team, or vendor, it is in your best interest to not provide names or details that will cause others to quickly elude to who the culprits are. It is hard to not put unscrupulous or difficult people on blast to alert others who may think about working with them in the future. However defamation lawsuits are unnecessarily expensive legal battles. Trust me, they will be discovered by a much bigger entity than you, possibly one of those class action lawsuits that send penny checks in the mail.
3). Friend-to-Friend Banter: Sometimes casual tweets and posts turn into an interchange of profane or derogatory statements. Don't believe for a second that people who can possibly control your destiny are not paying attention. Your associations to followers and FB friends are oftentimes just as incriminating as if you made the statements yourself. I am sure your parents told you that you are the company you keep. So keep the wrong company at a far distance.
 
Social media used to be an open forum for sharing ideas but it has now turned into a way to police people's opinions and to punish for double standards when it fits the agenda of a particular company or employee. In essence, think twice before you post because freedom of speech may free you from some much-needed income.

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Posted in: Internet etiquette,Internet usage,marketing,social media,Social Media and Business,Temeko Richardson