This topic came up recently in a client meeting where we were talking about what were, and were not, good articles to link to.
Lots of people in social media pay attention to their brand and message for posts they create, which is good. And then they sink themselves with an ill-considered retweet or share on Facebook.
No, I don’t mean porn or anything that obnoxious, although I’ve seen that too. I mean the seemingly less damaging post, generally around religion, politics or entertainment.
What’s the harm, you ask? This year politics is going to be a hot topic. Why not share? Plus it’s 2012. Lots of good fodder there for humor.
Sharing controversial topics isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Just do it with caution.
Take me, for example. I have strong political views, and I’ve basically made up my mind how I’m voting this fall. I’m disgusted with some of the antics in government, but I don’t think its appropriate to share that with the social media world. I can and have worked with people of all political and religious stripes. I really don’t want to piss off people who don’t share my views. I can work with them as clients and compartmentalize my own views.
If you are in public policy or your work is religious in nature, your guidelines on what is appropriate to share may be different than mine, but I’d still recommend following the advice that “if you can’t say something good about someone, say nothing.”
Civil discourse does not have to descend to name-calling and insults. You can disagree with an opinion in a respectful fashion.
Remember, you are judged as much by what you choose to share as by what you write.
