by Rachael Arnold, Drew Forrest and Alexander Cano
We’re entering an age where the divide between our digital and “real” lives have become blurred. If we use Facebook to be notified about group meetings, or use Waze to get to work in the morning… is there a separation anymore? And where does business fit in?
On the subject of scalability from our last class, some corporation are learning the hard way about the dangers of entering conversation where you’re not wanted. For a brief time during the Ray Rice spousal abuse media frenzy, there existed a hashtag named #WhyIStayed in which survivors of abusive relationships could share their stories with readers in order to capture a better understanding of this very serious, very real issue. The problem arose when some companies desired to be more spontaneous than helpful when they joined in on the conversation. The worst example, by far, is when the frozen pizza brand Digiorno tweeted “They had pizza. #WhyIStayed” As future experts in the realm of digital branding, it is imperative that we can recognize when and when not to extend our reach to a place where it very well not be welcome at all. – Alex Cano
Something that stuck with me was the first section of the Properties of Networked Publics: Persistence. It is crucial to remember that what you say sticks around. This is a piece of advice you heard often from top digital PR companies like Elite Lawyer Management (www.elitelawyermanagement.com/) who understands that every message they put out for a client could affect their PR forever. In today’s time with rapidly moving media it is easy to remember what you decided to tweet in a quick minute. This can and may hurt you. Everyone has a digital footprint. Whether it is your personal social media or a company’s media accounts it is so important to proofread not just for grammar, but all the different ways your material may be interpreted. -Drew Forrest
Here’s a list of our tweets before, during and after our class discussion. -Rachael Arnold
I thought is was interesting how Drew and Alex showed how the there is a blur between the intersection of our public and private lives on social media. People tend to forget that they have a larger audience than just their friends or followers on Facebook or Twitter and what they post can harm their reputation. This idea that you leave a digital footprint is a very interesting concept. For example, Justine Sacco lost her job over posting a controversial tweet on her personal Twitter. Although there are more pros than cons with social media, there is definitely an art to posting content. Good job!
I found your post to be very interesting. I never really thought about developing a “dividing line” between my digital life and “real” life. In fact, I use Facebook for my social life and business life. My work uses Facebook to communicate with each other. In addition to work, I’ve had several groups throughout college that used Facebook as a communication tool. My work uses a Facebook group to interact with each other to remind each other about events and meetings. For school, I’ve had several groups where we all agreed Facebook was the easiest way to contact each other.
I never really thought much about the separation between my private life and Facebook. This really brings up the question you proposed: “where does business fit in?”
My answer to this question is simple: everything I post on Facebook doesn’t have a separation from my digital life and “real” life. My co-workers have access to view my Facebook and my group members have access to see what I was doing the prior weekend.
There is no such thing as separation between your digital life and “real” life in today’s time. That’s why maintaining your digital footprint is so essential.