Overcoming Social Media Paranoia

[Michael Reynolds]

I've been having some great conversations lately with people who ask me about social media. Some of my favorite conversations start with the other party saying something to the effect of "Facebook is creepy... I don't want everyone knowing what I'm doing." These are great conversations because I have the opportunity to (hopefully) clear up some misconceptions about social media.

"I don't want everyone knowing what I'm doing."

This is typically objection #1. For some reason, some people think that joining Facebook (or Twitter, etc.) automatically means that everything they do will magically be broadcast the whole world and privacy will disappear. Not so. Social networks let you control what is distributed. Do you constantly call or email people with all your private life details? No... and it's no different in social media. You decide what gets posted.

"I don't want my personal information (address, photos, etc.) posted online for everyone to see."

When you decorate your house, do you hang your family photos on the exterior walls for everyone to see? Do you make copies of your house key for everyone in your neigborhood and hand them out at the July 4th cookout? No? Then follow the same rules on your social networks. Facebook, for example, lets you selectively show and hide photos and albums so that only certain groups of people can see them. You also have control over what people see and who you allow into your network.

"I don't care what my friends had for breakfast."

I usually hear this objection when talking about Twitter. While it's true that some people will tell you all the mundane things going on throughout the day, including what they had for breakfast, there is a simple solution to this: don't follow them. Keep in mind that you are in control. You can choose to follow people who interest you. If you want to see quality content, then follow people and organizations that offer content that interests you.

After a few minutes of conversation, I am usually able to clear up some of the misconceptions around social media. I enjoy this because I feel very strongly that when used correctly, this new generation of online tools has the potential to enhance our qualities of life and help business grow.

What are you scared of?