Your Facebook Status.
July 13th, 2010 § 1 Comment
“There is no reality – only perception” - Dr. Phil
My sister called the other day and asked how I was. I shared that I had been under the weather and that the mess in our house was driving me insane. I am ready for some sense of order in all of this chaos and I was working extra hours to keep up with clients. She was surprised and said “based on your Facebook status I had no idea. I thought everything was great.”
That made me laugh, I mean really laugh. Who would post on their Facebook status “I have a hangover, I forgot to pay the cable bill, the kids are driving me insane, plus I could use a break from my husband/girlfriend/whatever you need a break from”? Sure we may have all thought about it, (and you may have one of those TMI connections who not only shares why they feel like yick, but what kind of yick) but would you ever really post it?
More than likely the answer is “no”. We are all aware that perception is far more important in a networked world than reality. We shout and share the good news, and keep the requests and bad news or even the mundane news to ourselves. Behind the daily updates, status feeds, live news feeds and blogs there are real people attached to those words sitting in chairs with a computer screen in front of them. The screen is not a mirror. Rather it is a safety filter, if you will, that allows the user to present anything they want through a series of keystrokes.
This is exactly how a business, brand, personality or individual cannot do enough to keep perceptions of them free from unwanted attacks. How often do you take the time to Google your name or your business? When is the last time you ran a search on your personal information? Everything you post, every bit of public information you make available through LinkedIn, Twitter, MySpace, Facebook and other networked sites is all free to the collectors of such information.
This is also a good time to remind readers that you cannot believe everything you read. A good marketer will spend their time carefully crafting audience perception of their brand throughout all aspects of their business. A poor marketer will continue to push content out without ever gauging the impact of their messages. A wise customer will take their time to understand and investigate the difference.
I agree with you. Which is not something I usually do! I luv reading a post that will make one rattle their head. Also, thanks for allowing me to comment!