Before man moves to mars, he will first move online. What we call the
online community today will someday be home to most of planet earth’s
population. In essence, almost everyone will have an online account of
some sort in the no-distant future.
With social media, we
interact, mingle and share thoughts just as we would at the office, pub
or at a house party. Your ability to make the most of networking and
successfully leverage on it is dependent on your social market value or
better put, how you are perceived.
I
bet you know the snob who never follows back, fails to leave a comment
or reply DMs. Reminds you of someone from high school? How about the
emotional cry baby who drops lengthy captions that only reveals how
vulnerable they are, making them target for cyber bullies?
The
debate arises every now and then about the contradiction between reality
and how individuals or brands are perceived on social media.
There
is the case of those who appear to be deceptive, painting a story that
is inconsistent with the truth of who or what they are. In another case,
we have those who try desperately to portray the truth and reveal much
more than the public cares to know.
The
interesting thing is, no matter who you are or what you do on social
media, you are making an impression. However, the pertinent question is –
what impression are you making?
Now more than ever, we try to tell a
story online; to a wide range of audience which includes an unhealthy
number of strangers, people who might include potential romantic
partners, your future employer, your clients, business partners, new
friends and stalkers who most likely will make a judgement about your
personality, likes, dislikes and aspirations.
While today’s youth
peddle the lie that they don’t care, the truth is that it’s only a
matter of time before that girl realizes that the #ForTheDickChallenge
video she posted up a while ago is the only reason she didn’t get a call
back from that job interview.
How do you want to be perceived?
What are the best practices? Take the time to review your social media
image from the point of view of your audience. Think about it, am I
putting my best foot forward or just being plain careless of the
implications of what I share?
On the other hand, being real isn’t
necessarily being nonchalant. Clapbacks are cool for the laughs but
there should be a measure of restraint, especially for celebrities.
While the best clapbacks win the day, it also drags the celeb down,
revealing their insecurities which leaves a gaping hole for more of such
insulting attacks.
The idea of making a conscious effort to manage public perception is not new.
In
fact, it is primal instinct to project our premium selves. You don’t
show up on a first date being yourself, and would usually suppress your
insecurities and short comings, you would want to give off your ‘best
self’ and try not to lose your guard no matter how much red wine you
have. Don’t go on a posting, tweeting spree without considering whether
or not you are building a perception that will be a cog in your wheel.
You wouldn’t want the wheel to get stuck in the future for a something
you posted today.
Just before you run off, I’d like to know if this makes sense to you or as Big Shack would say,‘Mansnothot?’
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