Last month, Heather Armstrong, creator of Dooce announced she would be moving away from the mommy blog that has made her one of the most popular bloggers in the world. She became famous after being fired from a job in 2002 for talking about her work on her blog.
Nowadays, people are more likely to be fired for something as short and sweet as a tweet so it’s more important than ever that we consider what we put out there, both on social media and on our blogs.
Don’t be a dick
We’re always saying this should be the first rule of the internet, but it’s a good one to remember. There’s no need to be rude for the sake of being rude!
Think before you post
Whether it’s on your blog or social media, remember that the Internet is forever, and what you write will be findable by anyone in the future, even if you delete it. Take a few seconds to think whether you really want to post that angry tweet.
Lock down Facebook
Make sure to check your Facebook privacy settings before you start posting any grumpy status’. Everyone wants to have a grumble sometimes, but making sure that only those that you’d want to hear that sort of thing will see the status is a good thing. Remember that Facebook has lots of different options available for statuses, so you could post things in public, or restricted to just a few people.
Consider your voice
Sure, it might be super hilarious to say something because your friends know your sense of humour and what you really mean, but if you’re posting in a public forum (so blogging, tweeting from a public account or posting public Facebook statuses), then you need to remember that someone is likely to take things the wrong way.
Check your passwords
Yes, it sounds obvious, but making sure that you’re the only one who can post as you means that no one can post rude things as you.
What are your top tips to prevent getting in trouble because of what you say?
It’s common sense isn’t it but it’s incredible how many people forget the basics!
I’ve just started writing a newspaper column off the back of my blog and so had to go over everything again and make sure it’s locked down and actually I also told my employer – when it was just the blog I was anonymous enough but my full name etc are displayed with my column which makes it easier to be found and an association made so I told them out of courtesy.
Great tips though, thanking you!
M x