Contrary to popular belief that social media is an informal and casual connecting source; and while the very ease of use itself perpetuates that belief, we caution you that really, there are no “casual” moments on social media.
We have written before of the damaging impact social medial can have on your reputation. And it can also have a damaging impact on the image and repute of others – and that’s the focus of our blog today.
Think about that casual critical comment to a friend about another person that used to occur on coffee breaks or during lunch. Inappropriate? Absolutely. Yet contained within a small group of people. Today, with the social media as the new “water cooler”, those same gossipy, or perhaps intended as humorous, comments are now available for 1000’s of people throughout the world to see. And many who will only know you by how you are portrayed by others on the social network.
Hence – there are no casual moments on the social media. A seemingly innocuous comment can escalate through the responses to it into personal reflections about age, gender, interests and other issues resulting in communicating a negative imagine about you. Social media is not a personal email communication tool. It is a wide-open view of what you are saying, how you are saying it and to whom. And that’s before the responses start.
As an example, someone makes an innocent, perhaps playful, comment. The response says something like, ‘oh he/she is old and sometimes gets confused”. Again, an innocent comment. Yet someone reads it, perhaps a potential employer, client or customer and their take-away is – perhaps this person is too old to work with us. Now the comment and responses are no longer innocuous – now they have damaging consequences – where none was intended.
There is a legal doctrine referred to as “stray remarks”. These are comments and statements made by employees who have no power or authority to influence an outcome for another employee. The Wall Street Journal (8/6/10) reported on a California Supreme Court decision regarding an anti-discrimination suit filed against Google, the court ruled against Google and potentially opened the door for more lawsuits including and using “stray remarks”.
Can comments made on social media be considered “stray remarks”? Perhaps. The court system will need to decide that. And if you find your friends using you as the target for their humor, consider talking to them or rethinking your use of social media. Your future, your business success and the future of your family are simply much too important.
Copyright 2010 Kubica and LaForest
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