My Take on Network Stars Atlanta Seminar

Really great post! Since I wasn’t there, I can’t comment on this event specifically; but I want to find some time later to respond to some of the general sentiments you wrote about here.

Thanks for such nice comments. I’m very flattered. Obviously I do my best work where the Merlot flows free at a nearby bar!

@Jbrother .. thanks for the write up and your kind words. It was good to see you - offline; as we talked about post panel .. it’s all about the relationships. My favorite part was when the panel turned into a real conversation .. that’s when the learnings for me really take place. You bring so much to the convo not the least is your perspective from being involved before social was social!

[...] My Take on Network Stars Atlanta Seminar » jbrotherlove For instance, he complained about the 'noise factor' on Twitter which is an argument I’m tired of hearing. If your sole/primary reason for using Twitter is business and you are getting too much 'noise' in your Twitterstream, you are following the wrong people. This isn’t a problem with Twitter; it’s user error. Frankly, I like a mix. Reading tweets from people who only publicize their start-up activities, marketing strategies or political positions doesn’t interest me. Big whoop! Including 'noise' from interesting people about their daily life activities adds value to my social network experience because it helps me to understand who they are." (tags: socialmedia blogs blogging atlanta events web2.0 twitter) [...]

That’s a fair response. I guess in some ways my approach to social media and reputation self selects me out from some folks job searches, and I don’t mind because I wouldn’t want an employee who thinks that’s a good way to present themselves online. And that my friend is different strokes for different folks. Since I receive resumes all the time, I am not worried about finding qualified candidates.

Geoff, I agree with “different strokes for different folks”; it’s what makes the world go ’round. There’s certainly nothing wrong with your approach. It’s your company - your rules. My objection is that it’s usually the only one presented.

I ‘d like people to consider options. Specifically, when we’re talking about social media, there are as many different means to an end as there are participants.

Regarding your valid position “I wouldn’t want an employee who thinks that’s a good way to present themselves online,” here’s a scenario:

Let’s say you did not find “questionable” pictures of your candidate. You hired her, her work was excellent and months later, you saw pictures of her on Facebook doing shots. What happens then? Do you ask her to take them down. Do you reprimand her? Fire her?

Great post J. Now I wish I had attended. I’m also a little embarassed I hadn’t subscribed to your blog. Situation corrected. By the way, I found this post via twitter FTW!

J. We have had incidents like that and we have counselled employees on how that can impact their brand, the company and their clients brands. Whether they remove them down is up to them. In my mind so long as client confidentiality is not broken, and they haven’t compromised the company through illegal activities its their reputation.

However, the way they act as a whole — the composite picture of multiple incidents — is intrinsically tied to the company’s welfare. So if I see them as more of a detriment than a positive, it affects things like performance raises, etc. Like any company. That’s the difference between being a consultant and a CEO, you have to think of the greater good rather just yourself.

I have fired an employee for excerpting client emails and putting them on her blog. This broke her employment agreement. She had the option of tearing down the post in question, and claimed it was her right to keep them up. I exercised my right to terminate her employment, and would do it again in a heart beat.

It’s free market. Your options are fine. They don’t work for me though. Mine seem to produce results, which is what I am paid to do. It cracks me up that you think I am conservative though, showing that you really don’t know me or follow me on Twitter, etc. Most marketing social media minds have me pegged as cavalier and rebellious.

Geoff,
You may not want me to hire me because I use the F-word on my blog (and on Twitter, and Facebook, etc. etc. etc.). And I don’t want to work for you since that’s your opinion. Done, easy enough for me.

It’s more important that ever for both employers and employees to be transparent about their expectations up front, and as long as that happens I don’t think a particular viewpoint on that sort of thing is a problem.

But I agree with J that it’s a big recurring problem that viewpoints similar to yours are presented as gospel when they don’t represent the facts on the ground at anywhere near all companies.

And I think we can all agree you should have fired the employee quoting client emails. That’s just stupid, and doesn’t strike me a particularly relevant comparison to the dilemma J presented.

Now I’m not a betting woman, but if I were, I’d bet that Geoff will ignore the email introduction a super-cool third-party attempted to make between us and choose “not to bother vetting me”, because I have pictures on the internet of myself pole dancing. But who knows, maybe he will prove me wrong.

Geoff, I wrote “Also, he is too conservative about social media and networks for my taste…” Based on your comments and my standards, you are. At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter much as both of us are achieving positive results using our respective approaches.

What I don’t want is to be dismissed or considered to be some sort of anarchist without business sense who thinks “anything goes” (I’d fire an employee posting client emails, too).

Rather, I am presenting a different viewpoint regarding the changing role of social media in business; a position others share - but rarely gets expressed in settings like the Network Solutions event.

[...] the eff word down on a blog is a great way to be authentic and generate real relationships. Yeah, I’ve heard that one recently (I’ve been guilty of it, [...]

[...] some ways I wish I had gone to the Network Stars Atlanta Seminar Tuesday night. I am impressed that so many people (175!) showed up - once again, just goes to show [...]

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