Social media might be able to make you look bad faster to more people.

by Heather Bussing

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I’ve been talking to social media experts, lawyers, and HR practitioners for about three days now. There are a lot of questions and few clear answers. But when you distill the discussion to its essence, it comes down to one thing. People are afraid of social media because they are afraid of looking bad.

I have one question for you.  Are you doing or saying things that make you look bad?

Social media might be able to make you look bad faster to more people. And social media can help you learn about what people are saying about you quickly and easily. And you can learn exactly what they said. (In the old days, you had to wait for someone to come tell you the edited version.)

But people have always said mean things to the people who mattered.

Social media and technology have just changed the way they say it. What they are saying hasn’t really changed at all.

So instead of killing the messenger or her iPhone, first, look at whether you are doing something that makes you look bad.

If this is the behavior you want from employees, make sure it true for the company too.