It’s Your Reputation
Every now and then it bites us in the back side, and when it does we are often upset that we are being judged unfairly but it is our reputation so we have to take responsibility for it both personally and professionally.
Today more than ever those two reputations have a tendency to run together. There was a time that your private life was private or stayed within a very small community of people who knew you.
Not true today, millions of people are on at least one social networking sights and often on multiple sights such as Linkedin, Facebook, Twitter and Blogs. Not including all of the information that can be found out about a person by simply Googling their names. It is harder than ever to protect our reputation personally and professionally.
Today more than every it is imperative that you manage your reputation. Be cautious about what you post online, be aware of what others are posting about you and your business. If you are not on Facebook, Twitter, or other sites, then you need to find a way of monitoring these sights. You can destroy your reputation, but it can also be destroyed by others. Do you know what is being said to you and about you?
I know of many examples where friends have been denied a job based on information the employer has gotten via the internet, and business has been lost because the business owner has taken some very controversial stands in a very public way,
It is your reputation, hard to build, easy to destroy. What are you doing to protect it?
About Hazel
7 Responses so far.
I generally avoid posting my opinions about politics & religion. However, I don’t hide everything about myself either. I often post “Law of Attraction”-type affirmations. I know that doesn’t vibe with everyone, and may even put some people off, but I don’t mind. I know it resonates with my target market. That being said, I was slammed once because of an opinion I posted about customer service! I try to remember the saying that the “key to failure is trying to please everyone”.
I agree you cannot hide yourself, you just want to make sure that what you are putting out there does you no harm. We all have private lives and vices but that is not for the masses, it is a judgmental world.
Hazel,
I could not agree with you more. Thank you for reminding us to “mind our manners.” We cannot hear that enough these days.
Not only do we need to be aware of what people may be writing about us, we also have to be conscious of the actions and reactions we make when attending local events.
If you are even the least bit active within your community, people are always watching you with a careful eye…making judgements. They are making assumptions about your personal and professional life based on what they see at events and/or online.
I have written a blog posting “Three Deadly Mistakes To Avoid At A Networking Event” http://jerrywwilliamson.com/?p=58 that points out some of the social pitfalls we should avoid while attending networking events. And, all of these were based on observances I made at a local chamber event one evening.
It’s important to remember most of us are using networking events and social media to help build our business and one seemingly wrong move could mean the difference in our landing the next big client or losing them.
Hi Hazel,
I really enjoyed this blog post and the one about surrounding yourself with the best. They go hand in hand. If you are surrounding yourself with the best, then your reputation will reflect it.
When deciding who your top five associates should be, then determining their reputation is essential.
Thanks for the great words.
Lisa Cooke
http://www.theconstantnetworker.blogspot.com
Very good Point Lisa. Your five will always be there to defend your reputation or to let you know if you are doing something to hurt it!
Well said Jerry and thanks for the link, I will go and ready your article!
Great reminder Hazel. There have been multiple times that I have had to blog friends on Facebook so that what they feel is appropriate language or content doesn’t appear on my feed for everyone to see.