Resumes Revisited: Do You Put Your Twitter Username on Your Resume?

Resumes usually take a rather standard form when it comes to including your name, address, phone number, email, and maybe cell number and fax number.

Here's an interesting question to consider: Should you include your Twitter username, your Facebook profile page URL, your LinkedIn public profile URL or any other social media information on your resume?

Okay, obviously the answer is yes if you're applying for a job in social media. And obviously the answer is no if you've posted inappropriate information about yourself on MySpace or Facebook.

It's the middle ground that leads me to ask the question: Do you want to indicate by, for example, including your Twitter username that you are knowledgeable in one of the popular microblogging platforms? Or are you worried that a prospective employer might think you'll spend too much time on Twitter if the employer knows you're on that social media platform?

I'm not sure there's an easy answer for everyone. Anyone want to weigh in with an opinion?

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Six steps to Resume 2.0 Can you think of other ways to start tweaking your resume for Web 2.0? Employers, human resources pros and recruiters - would any of this be helpful for you? Are you using social networks for recruitment purposes? ...

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Flipping Burgers and Beyond, Facebook, Twitter, internships, constructing resumes, jobs, careers

Social Media: Your Photo Needs to Look Like You Do

Here I am again with another "warning" about your photo on social media. First, let's be clear what your photo is there for on Facebook, Twitter, and other sites. It's there to make you a real person, someone with whom people can relate, someone whom people can get to know, like and trust (the mantra of doing business on the web).

We've already discussed that this isn't possible if there's no photo. Only this morning I got three Twitter messages of people following me who had no photo with their bios. I did NOT follow these people. If they aren't willing to identify themselves by photo (or real name), why should I trust their advice?

And we've talked about photos with baseball caps that hide your eyes or photos of you on Facebook with two friends and which one is you. And never using a silly photo of you sticking out your tongue or wearing a clown wig.

But yesterday I came across another social media photo mistake -- a photo of a young man with a beard who I had just met clean-shaven in person. The photo looked nothing like the young man. If one purpose of social media is to make an online connection so that when you meet in person you recognize each other, using an old photo with a beard is not going to do this.

Moral of this post? When you dramatically change your appearance (grow a beard, shave off a mustache, change the color of your hair, drastically chop off long locks, get glasses), change your photo. If you want people to know, like and trust you on the web, then don't show a photo that "disguises" the current you.

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Flipping Burgers and Beyond, social media, photos, Facebook, Twitter

Chicago Tribune Checks in Locally About High School Students and Facebook

The Chicago Tribune published its own version of the story of college admissions officers looking at student profiles on Facebook by checking in with local colleges and local high school students. (See http://snipurl.com/chicagotribunefb.)

While there were the usual warnings about college admissions officers seeing things you probably don't want them to see, I found the following paragraph very interesting (and perhaps more so because my niece and two nephews graduated from New Trier):

Ethan Goldsmith, a senior, said he, too, already was exercising caution because New Trier Township High School has suspended students from sports teams for brandishing a beer in photos online.

Now here's a new online warning that I haven't blogged about yet. Your own high school could take action based on an inappropriate online photo of you.

It would be a good idea to pay attention to all these warnings. And make it clear to your friends that you do NOT want them to post inappropriate photos of you online or put in their Facebook status, for example, "John is watching his friend Martin throw up after chugging 10 beers."

Protect your own reputation.

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Facebook, Flipping Burgers and Beyond, Chicago Tribune, New Trier, college admissions officers, high school students

Beware of Facebook: The Wall Street Journal Agrees With Me

I know some of my regular readers of this blog are groaning because I’m about to talk about Facebook AGAIN. Go ahead and groan now – then read on, because there’s a dangerous sand trap that had never occurred to me.

The September 18th Wall Street Journal article “College Applicants, Beware: Your Facebook Page Is Showing” by John Hechinger reporteded:

A new survey of 500 top colleges found that 10% of admissions officers acknowledged looking at social-networking sites to evaluate applicants. Of those colleges making use of the online information, 38% said that what they say “negatively affected” their views of the applicant. Only a quarter of the schools checking the sites said their views were improved, according to the survey by education company Kaplan, a unit of Washington Post Co.” (Boldface mine.)

What I found particularly upsetting in the Journal article is that college admission officers sometimes receive anonymous tips to check out someone’s Facebook page. Apparently these tips may be from rival applicants.

After reading about this particular sand trap, I visualized a scenario where two top students from the same high school are applying to the same prestigious college. One student calls in a tip about the other student’s inappropriate Facebook page in order to get that student eliminated from consideration.

All I can say is that you can’t stop some people from being underhanded, so the only way you can assure that there’s no dirt for someone to find on you is to make sure there’s no dirt PERIOD.

If you have any questions as to what is appropriate on your Facebook page, check out past posts of mine under the category Facebook. And if you’d like a free copy of the “7 Mistakes to Avoid to Protect Your Image on Facebook,” go to www.millermosaic.com.

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www.millermosaic.com

Facebook and Other Social Media Platforms: Changing the Use of Email and Privacy Concerns

As those of you who are regular readers of this blog know, I often post about the need to be very careful of what you put on your Facebook profile page. I harp on this subject because Facebook is being used more and more for business purposes. And you never know who might see your profile on Facebook – for example, a college admissions officer of a college to which you plan to apply or a human resources recruiter at a company to which you plan to apply.

And today – because of a question sent out by the Minnesota Interactive Marketing Association (MIMA) as part of a blog carnival (bloggers invited to write blogs on the topic and then submit their blog posts to MIMA) – I realized that all my harping about your Facebook profile isn’t enough.

Here’s the MIMA question: “Will Facebook, MySpace, and SMS marginalize the role of email in communication between friends, family, and people?” (According to Wikipedia, “Short Message Service – SMS – is a communications protocol allowing the interchange of short text messages between mobile telephone devices.”)

I absolutely believe that Facebook, Twitter and other social media platforms will dramatically decrease the use of email. Already I’m much more likely to send a DM (direct message and therefore private) to someone on Twitter rather than email the same person. I know the person will very likely read the tweet before reading the email. Or I’ll send a public tweet telling the person I’ve just sent an email.

What’s the connection between my opinion on this MIMA topic and advice for college applications, internships, jobs and careers? The decrease of email accompanied by the increase of social media communication indicates an increased need to be very careful, for example, what comments you put on people’s walls on Facebook or what you post on a Facebook group discussion board.

Replacing email or text messaging with comments on Facebook and other social media platforms can come back to haunt you if you’re not always thinking with a third eye of the long-term effects of what you’re publicly writing rather than sending in a private email.

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Flipping Burgers and Beyond, Minnesota Interactive Marketing Association, Facebook, Twitter, MySpace

Clearly Written Communication: Make Sure the Other Person Knows What You Mean

A college sophomore I know needed to replace all the cell phone numbers he had stored in his own cell phone. So he did what I think was rather clever. He created an event page on Facebook to request that his friends send him their cell phone numbers.

Only there was one tiny problem. He gave the event a weird name – something with letters and symbols that was way beyond my understanding – and didn’t clearly explain what the event was for. After he got several puzzled replies besides mine, he realized that he hadn’t clearly stated the purpose of his event.

I’m bringing this up here as an example of something we all do at one time or another: assume that another person can follow what we mean because it is so clear to us what is needed. What we all need to remember is that another person doesn’t necessarily have all the prior information that we have.

Whatever you write for other people to read must be clear. You need to put yourself in the other person’s place to figure out what he/she needs to know to understand what you’re talking about.

This is true whether you’re writing a college application essay or a memo to your boss about a topic the boss asked you to research or a query letter asking for an informational meeting.

When I was feature editor of the State News at Michigan State University, a reporter on my feature staff said to me, “Phyllis, you know what I mean in this news story.” And I replied, “Yes, I know. But the student who reads this article in tomorrow’s paper may not. You have to write this so that student who doesn’t know what I know can understand what you’re saying.”

The next time you write someone – or create an event on Facebook – make sure that what you’ve said is clear to anyone who does not know the background information that you do. Give the other person enough information so that he/she can follow what it is you’re saying.

If you always keep the point of view of the other person in mind when writing, you’ll be able to earn a reputation as someone who is a good writer and able to communicate well with others. This is a good reputation to have even in the age of IMing and Twitter.

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Flipping Burgers and Beyond, clear communication, Facebook, Twitter, Michigan State University, State News, clear writing, college applications, jobs

Business Cards: Are They Still Needed in a World of Web 2.0?

I’m getting ready to get business cards for my younger daughter and me for our company Miller Mosaic, LLC. Up to now there’s been no need for business cards for this new online company, whose website isn’t yet live and whose business model will be part of Web 2.0.

Yet next month my daughter and I will be attending a conference in LA where we hope to meet some of the people we’re following on Twitter and in the blogosphere, such as conference speaker Chris Brogan, a Web 2.0 guru (www.chrisbrogan.com). We want cards to hand out when we meet these people in person.

Considerations for getting your own business card

If you’re starting to look for your first real job, do you need business cards? After all, if you get a job, you may be provided with business cards. And until you have a job, what would go on your business card?

In the “old” days business cards could cost a lot of money. Today there are so many places online and offline to get cards, including cards that are free except for shipping, that cost should no longer be a deciding factor.

And there’s another consideration. Some time ago I read an article in The Wall Street Journal about people having different business cards for different parts of their lives. For example, someone may work as an accountant during the day and have a company business card. Then she may be a slot car enthusiast on weekends and pass out a personal business card when she meets fellow slot car enthusiasts.

Thus, you could get an inexpensive business card now that can be used while you job search and, after you get that first job, can be used on weekends for meeting people at parties or other venues.

What’s needed on a personal business card?

Name, personal email address, and cell phone number are the minimum needed on a business card plus possible a personal website (as long as there are no inappropriate items on the website). No need for an address, which can change, or your landline phone, which can change. In most cases you’ll keep your personal email and cell phone even when you change jobs.

You could add one more element – something that makes you memorable in the minds of people you meet and yet is “professional” enough when giving out a card at a job interview. Such elements might include: website designer (you made your own website), social media expert (you’re a pro at MySpace and Facebook), political commentator (you’re a regular commentator on several political blogs).

While you may be interviewing for the job of an actuary or a social worker, the interviewer should still be impressed at your “talent” because those companies who haven’t yet embraced Web 2.0 will need all the help they can get to do so in the next couple of years.

Who knows? You may be hired for an actuary job and end up the company’s social media guru as more and more companies create such a position.

So say yes to getting a personal business card. (And you can even attach a copy of it to your email signature.)

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Business cards, Flipping Burgers and Beyond, internships, jobs, careers, interviewing, MySpace, Facebook, Chris Brogan

New Face for Facebook – More Opportunities for Effective Networking

Thanks to MaryPat Kavanagh – social networking and joint venture expert for entrepreneurs (www.queenofmarketing.com), I’ve had an early peek at the new Facebook. (If you have an account, you can change your old page to the new one by going to www.new.facebook.com. And according to MaryPat, everyone’s page will soon be changed over to the new look).

My comments: First, I’ve barely learned the ins and outs of the old Facebook. Still, there are already things I like better, such as an actual visible home button instead of having to mouse over to find the invisible home button.

From a professional point of view, the best new feature may be the opportunity to put a very short bio (only a little longer than the one allowed on Twitter) right under your profile picture. So when, for example, someone is on your Wall page, the person can see something about you without going to your Info page and scrolling down under Personal Information to About Me.

Below is what I wrote for the little bio under my profile picture. Full disclosure: it took me some time to fit what I wanted to say into the space allowed:

I'm a marketer and an author with a recently released novel and three blogs. I'm launching a FAMILY of info product websites with estateplanningforyou.com.
~
I just connected through Facebook with Zimblers in England -- possible distant cousins.

(The photo of a dulcimer at the beginning of this post is representing the tsimbl, an Eastern European stringed klezmer instrument that originated the Jewish surnames Zimbler and Zimbalist. I’m working with a new possible cousin in England found through Facebook on a theory involving the supposedly most famous klezmer musician Mikhail Guzikov (1806-1837), who toured “the great opera houses of Europe from Odessa to Paris” according to an article by Pete Rushefsky. In our Zimbler cousin case the opera house in Odessa is a possible key to a mystery we’re trying to solve.)

If you’re not already on Facebook, this is a great time to start. You’ll be learning the new look while the old-timers will be learning it too, so you won’t be that far behind.

Just remember my constant warning – choose a profile picture that has a professional look to it. No funny faces, funny hats or funny anything.

And if you read this column come friend me on Facebook – just be sure to mention my FLIPPING BURGERS blog in the friend request message you send me.

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MaryPat Kavanagh, www.queenofmarketing.com, Facebook, Zimbler, Zimbalist, Flipping Burgers and Beyond, tsimbl, Odessa, Mikhail Guzikov, Pete Rushefsky

Internships, Jobs and Careers: Another Facebook No-No – Sending a Friend Request to a Job Interviewer

The July 29^th Wall Street Journal article by Sarah E. Needleman entitled “Thx for the IView! I Wud (heart) to Work 4U!!;) Young Job Candidates Find Too-Casual Tone of Textspeak Turns Off Hiring Managers” surprised me.

I wasn’t surprised that young job candidates didn’t know better than to use texting abbreviations in their thank-you notes to interviewers. I’ve written before about the need to use proper English (spelling and grammar) for such communication.

But I admit I was surprised that young people on Facebook send friend requests to interviewers with personal pages on Facebook. This assumes a peer relationship that doesn’t exist. And this action can be fraught with peril if the job applicant has been indiscreet on his or her Facebook profile page.

Although Facebook is now being used more and more for business, there’s still a major difference between Facebook and LinkedIn. Facebook is a social media site first, a business site second. LinkedIn is a business site first, a social media site second.

Therefore I do believe it would be appropriate to send an add to network request to an interviewer on LinkedIn because presumably the interviewer is on the site for business purposes.

But to send a friend request to an interviewer who is on Facebook in her or his personal capacity and not on a company page is presumptuous. Regardless of what you may think, the interviewer does not want to share her or his likes in music and movies with you.

As in everything else on the internet, you have to use good judgment. Every time I want to send a message to someone through Facebook, I stop and consider whether this is something that could be put on the person’s wall or whether this is something that should only be seen by the recipient. These messages can’t be dashed off without any thought.

Just because you can send a message around the world in a flash does NOT mean that you should disengage your brain from your activities.

And, according to the Journal article, interviewers are worried about hiring someone who text messages a thank you using abbreviated language. What kind of business correspondence can this young person be trusted to do? After all, every communication that person sends if working at a company reflects back on the company.

Next time you’re tempted to dash off a thank you from your BlackBerry five minutes after you’ve left an interview, consider whether that is the best positioning of your image. While you don’t have to produce a hand-written thank-you note, a well-formulated email could go a long way towards demonstrating that you know professional communication standards.

Remember, as always, the job opportunity that you impact positively or negatively by your actions may be the one that you really want. Don’t jeopardize it by two-thumbing a sloppy, jargon-laced thank you.

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Wall Street Journal, WSJ, Sarah E. Needleman, Flipping Burgers and Beyond, internships, jobs, careers, Facebook, LinkedIn, social media, BlackBerry, job interviewers

Yet Another Facebook Profile Photo Warning – Take This Advice Seriously!

Yesterday Peter Shankman’s www.helpareporter.com email alert had this query:

Doing market research for an article:

What, if anything, are kinds/young adults taught in grade school/high school and/or college re: online profiles and social media such as Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, etc.?

What if you found out that your college-age nephew, who is slated to take over the family business after college, looks like a total idiot online? How do we teach our upcoming “young professionals” that posting pics of themselves in nothing but a diaper at Halloween is just not appropriate?

Of course I immediately responded to this query because I often blog about this problem of inappropriate photos and personal info on social media. I even forwarded to the reporter my post of June 6^th (see http://tinyurl.com/5g9hgr).

And then I went on Facebook because I’m working with a young woman and her mother to more effectively use Facebook and LinkedIn (and start on Twitter) to help establish their professional brands. And what do you think I found on the young woman’s profile page?

A profile photo of her making a face (she’ll be 27 in September), and for “interested in” on her profile she had put Men.

I immediately emailed her that she must:

a) replace that goofy photo with an appropriate profile photo

b) eliminate the “interested in” entry and instead use the “looking for” entry of Friendship and Networking

Was I annoyed that I had to tell her this? Yes and no. Yes, because she should have known better. No, because obviously from the reporter’s query there are lots of young adults who don’t know better.

If you’re a reader of this blog, I sincerely hope you’ve taken my warnings to heart. Be sure your profile photos on all social media sites of which you’re a member are appropriate as well as having appropriate comments on your profile pages.

The career that you do NOT sabotage if you follow this advice is your own.

Creating Workplace Opportunities: Going for the Gold

Creating your own opportunities for internships and jobs is a topic about which I frequently blog. And the following story is a great example of creating your own opportunity.

Jane (not the person’s real name) spotted a job opening at a major computer software company. She didn’t have any of the requirements listed for the job except she knew she had the contacts and skills to achieve the desired end result. And she really wanted that job.

Knowing she wouldn’t get an interview based on her resume, she used her contacts to convince the company to fly her out for an interview for the position, for which the company had been looking for eight months for the right person to hire.

At the interview she said that the reason the company hadn’t been able to hire anyone was that the company sought the wrong requirements. In fact, it was her skill set that was needed to get the job done. And after a few more interviews (flying back and forth between the coasts), she got the job.

Of course, the contacts she used to get the first interview had been nurtured for a long time. And when she went in for the several interviews, I’m sure she was dressed appropriately, had the correct body posture, handshake, etc. I also know she is very careful about what she puts on her Facebook profile and other social media networking sites.

The moral of this story? If there’s a job you really want and you believe you can achieve the desired end result, do not be put off by a list of job requirements that you do not have. If you know that those requirements are not truly needed to do the job and that you have other skills that are needed, go for it. The job you win may be the one you’ve always wanted.

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careers, Facebook, Flipping Burgers and Beyond, , internships, jobs, social media networking sites

Facebook Photo Part II – Choosing a Profile Photo

Have you ever been frustrated on Facebook when you want to see what a male teen looks like – and his profile picture is of three teen guys? Which one is he? Or a female teen trio that gives you no clue as to which one of these three teens is the profile page bio about?

In my June 6^th post I talked about NOT using an idiotic photo as your profile picture because Facebook is becoming more and more a business site. (See http://flippingburgersandbeyond.blogspot.com/2008/06/facebook-warning-beware-of-profile.html)

On the flip side, a head shot just of you (so your face is big enough to be seen and so we know this is you) should be used for the profile picture. Then pictures of you with friends can be included in your photo section.

And which head shot you choose should be given consideration. I personally feel that, for a teen male -- even one in college, a formal head shot in a suit is too stiff for a Facebook profile picture. My opinion is that the picture should be a good head shot with a nice shirt (no tie). And for a teen female, a nice top that is NOT too low is a good choice.

If the head shot appears so dark on Facebook that no one can see your features, use a different photo. A photo of a face that can’t be clearly seen isn’t any better than no photo at all.

With even cell phones taking pictures these days, you should be able to snap enough shots to find one good profile picture for your Facebook page. Remember that your Facebook page can be your business/career card to the world.

Extra tip: Of course as you grow older you’ll change your photo. Yet, at any one time on the internet, it’s preferable to use the same profile photo across all social media platforms of which you are a member in order to promote the good will generated by the recognition factor.

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Facebook, social media platforms, Flipping Burgers and Beyond

Internet Brave New World: “Final” Frontier for Business/Careers

Twitter, Twhirl, Flock, Plurk – No, I’m not talking in Klingon. I’m naming a few of the new social media applications available on the web. And if you’re young – say a business major in college – you want to learn about these applications sooner than later. Why? Because this new frontier will be your world.

A great place to start learning is to go to http://www.ustream.tv/channel/blogcatalog and listen to the two free webinars sponsored by BlogCatalog.com featuring social media consultant Erica O’Grady. I listened to these two programs live and learned a tremendous amount of info. (I typed notes while listening.)

The next free webinar with Erica O’Grady is June 30. Get online a few minutes before so you can sign up for a free ustream membership. That way, when you type in your comments during the webinar your username will show up instead of something such as ustream 2789.

Of course, you can visit the new social media sites directly. Yet with Twitter, for example, I needed to learn more about it before I could even begin to get the benefits from sending tweets. (Actually, I usually send updates through Ping.fm on my Facebook account, which updates Twitter and several other of my social media sites.)

A great place to watch short free videos that explain such things as RSS feeds and social bookmarking sites is www.commoncraft.com. And if the free info you find on such sites doesn’t do it for you, check out the special reports section of www.publicityhound.com. Publicity Hound Joan Stewart has short inexpensive reports that make things really clear. I particularly like her special report on Twitter.

As opposed to me – who is trying to become a princess (queen would be expecting too much) of internet marketing in a very short period of time – if you’re young you can take time to learn about all the new online possibilities for business and career success.

Oh, yes, if you join Twitter (free), follow me at http://twitter.com/ZimblerMiller. And you can even send me a direct message by putting @ZimblerMiller in the What are you doing box on the home page.

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Twitter, Twhirl, Flock, Plurk, BlogCatalog.com, Commoncraft.com, PublicityHound.com, ustream.tv, Erica O’Grady, Ping.fm, Facebook, Joan Stewart

Facebook Warning: Beware of the Profile Photo You Use

I really shouldn’t have to write this post because of how strongly I’ve warned about watching what you put up on social media networks. Yet when I went to “friend” a rising college sophomore, I discovered that he had an idiotic profile picture on his Facebook account. (An unseen person’s hand is squishing his mouth into a weird shape.)

I quickly sent him a message – I did NOT embarrass him by writing on his Facebook wall – that he must change the photo immediately. I explained that Facebook is becoming a business relationship site in addition to a social relationship site, and he cannot afford to alienate future business contacts with his juvenile mug shot. (Note that I’m talking about his profile picture. If he wants a goofy picture in his photos elsewhere on his Facebook page, that might be okay depending on the picture.)

And only yesterday morning in a consult with Mary Pat Kavanagh of www.kachingtraffic.com did I learn how very much a business relationship site Facebook can be. I’m not going to try to impart here even a tiny bit of her extensive knowledge. Instead I’ll just say that I didn’t appreciate how important it is on Facebook to create personal relationships first that can then lead to business relationships.

Later I had a conversation with a professional who doesn’t have an email account. She argued that online social media networking will create young people who can’t socialize with real people. In reply I talked about how social media expert Erica O’Grady (www.ericaogrady.com) believes that successful social media networking demands real-world relationships.

O’Grady’s premise is that you must go out and meet the people in person that you have met online – whether that be at a conference or a speaking engagement in your hometown or a community service project. It did take me a little while to wrap my head around this concept. Then I saw how right she is.

Now O’Grady also talks about being the purple cow in the room – for example, how she dyed her hair the color pink before going to a conference of techies in order to motivate people to start a conversation with her. While I understand this concept, I still think that your Facebook profile picture has to be a good picture of you and not an idiotic picture. Because, truthfully, who would even recognize you at a conference if your profile picture is of you with your mouth screwed up all funny?

Anyone disagree with me? Think that it’s okay to have an idiotic picture on Facebook even if down the road you plan to use Facebook connections for business purposes? Leave a comment below. I’d love to discuss this.

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Facebook, Mary Pat Kavanagh, www.kachingtraffic.com, www.ericaogrady.com, Flipping Burgers and Beyond, business, profile picture

“Tweeting” Your Image – the Twitter Phenomenon

Just when you’ve got MySpace and Facebook figured out – carefully balancing “fun” with maintaining a professional image – comes Twitter, a micro-blogging platform that offers you the ability to send messages (tweets) of 140 characters -- not 140 words.

The idea is that you post a message on Twitter to let everyone who is “following” you know what you are doing. In other words, people choose to “follow” you and then get a news feed of your tweets.

In the last week I’ve gotten email newsletters from several internet marketers explaining how to use Twitter for business purposes. Trying to follow this advice, I’ve sent tweets about attending the two-day internet marketing seminar of John Kremer (www.bookmarket.com) as well as attending BookExpoAmerica. Last night I sent a tweet about reading the book “Problogger” by Darren Rowse and Chris Garrett recommended by the BlogSquad (www.blogsquad.biz).

It’s important to consider how this new social phenomenon (it’s free – anyone can sign up at www.twitter.com) could help or hinder your professional image. If you sign up for this social network, ANYONE else who is on the network can “follow” you unless you check “Protect my updates.” (This lets only people whom you approve follow your updates.)

I’ve just put a Twitter link on both of my blogs. (I chose to have only one tweet appear rather than the five tweets that is the default setting.) And I actually don’t update through Twitter. I update through Ping.fm, which at this writing is still in beta.

And actually I don’t go to the Ping site to update. I go to my Facebook page, where I have the Ping application. There I can dash off a quick update that Ping sends to the sites I’ve indicated: Bebo, Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace, and Twitter. And, now apparently, Twitter then sends the update to my two blogs.

Okay, are you as confused as I am? And you want to know what’s the point of this post? One, you should know what Twitter and tweets are if someone asks you about this new phenomenon. Two, you should remember to follow all the “protect your brand” recommendations that I’ve given for other social media networks.

And because it is so easy to dash off a tweet, you may have to be especially careful to resist shooting off a risqué comment. Instead, if you decide to join Twitter, consider how you can positively impact your brand.

You know what? I’m going to send a tweet through Ping on my Facebook account that I’ve just blogged about Twitter.

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Using Social Media Networks to Enhance Your Career

I often blog about the need to be very careful what you put on social media networks such as Facebook and MySpace. You always want to be careful that you don’t post anything that can get you in hot water with your present employer or a potential future employer.

Yet after reading Business Week’s May 22^nd “The Future of Tech” article “Beyond Blogs” by Stephen Baker and Heather Green, I realized I need to add advice on the other side of the coin:

If you are an employee of a company that has an internal social media network, be sure to post helpful comments and suggestions on the site. This is a way for new employees – even interns if given access to the internal social media network – to get recognition without coming on too strongly in their actual work assignment.

In referring to these internal company social media networks, the article says: “The new order favors those who network, create buzz, and promote their brand. Managers have to make sure that quieter employees don’t lose out.”

You may be uncomfortable going to company parties or company picnics. But there’s no need to be a wall flower or missing in action on a company’s internal social media network. Go ahead and add content to let your colleagues learn about you.

Of course, as always, make sure that what you add is appropriate. Remember, the most important brand to you is your own brand. Put it online respectfully and in appropriate networks.

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Watching What You Post on MySpace and Facebook

We’ve all heard people say that our reputation is one of our most precious possessions. And that once our reputation gets tarnished, it’s very hard to untarnish it.

Another one of the advice points from the book by Harry H. Harrison Jr. -- “1001 Things Every College Student Needs to Know” -- is:

“You need to know many career and graduate school plans have been derailed by pictures of drunken, half-naked students being posted on Facebook and MySpace. Employers and graduate school admissions officers have computer access too.”

In FLIPPING BURGERS AND BEYOND I spend a great deal of time discussing how to protect your image. The advice ranges from getting a professional email rather than something such as “sexyme” to looking the part for the type of job for which you’re interviewing. (Proper dress for an established engineering firm may be totally different than for a start-up web company even though in both cases you’re interviewing for a website designer position.)

Yet the most important advice for preventing the destruction of your image is when I discuss being careful what you put on any public online space. Anyone and everyone can and probably will see any R-rated photos you post.

Before you upload the photos of your most recent birthday party, check that all the photos are “decent.” If there are any that you wouldn’t want your current employer or a prospective employer to view, do not put them on your profile page.

Strive for a clean public image in person and online, and your career opportunities won’t be limited by one silly antic or racy posted photo.