“Facebook and Google do it wrong, Twitter does it better”

A very eloquent and passionate treatise from 4chan’s Chris Poole on social networks, identity and how we represent ourselves online.

This is a topic I think about a lot, because I never know to explain myself to people on the web. I don’t think many of us are one-dimensional and we all have lots of interests. But mine are pretty woven into the fabric of how I live and so, when I move seamlessly from doing very technical things on the web to working with kids on the finer points of their tennis games — I see no disconnect. Other people have communicated to me at other times that this is strange to them; wondering “well what don’t you do?”

Talking specifically about the web, I have lots of places that I’ve been a member for well over a decade. Communities that I’m an active part of where there are — for better or worse — strangers whom I’ve interacted with for the better part of my adult life who know a lot about each other and are brought together for interest and love of a common (often obscure) hobby, passion or game.  While these interactions are meaningful in context, they don’t necessarily translate to the day-to-day dealings of what I do. Nor should they, really.

Facebook is especially harrowing for me whenever I think about it. Here there is a pool of nearly 800 people with whom come from different aspects of my life at different times. There’s my favorite uncle and that kid from summer camp from a few months ago. My closest college friends and that girl from grade school that I haven’t seen in ten years but with whom it’s cool to “know how she’s doing.”

I digress, but that’s the challenge of trying to communicate your interests with disparate communities takes time, effort and becomes onerous. I’m not sure it’s the job of social networks to be tailored to the diverse ways in which we communicate or the ability to use say, a handle on a network is even the best way. But I do agree wholly that I have far richer interactions — and always have — on social mediums where I feel more anonymous, less exposed and more apt to communicate with the wider world without regard for pagerank, bios or who is going to take what I say out of context. It’s almost why I blog so little and why my real life friends are often bored by my internet persona via blogs.

It’s a contrast that I’m aware of and that Chris Poole articulates concisely in this speech.

Online personas and authenticity

At #tweetwyo last night, we got into a pretty vibrant discussion about whether filtering web content was somehow masking who you really are. The consensus was that there’s a place for professional decorum, even on the internet and a place for personal information.

I think it’s an even bigger issue than just a matter of personal v. private decorum. It’s about nuance and information sharing. It really depends on what purpose the social web serves for you. For many of us who have connections to higher ed, we’re often attached to more than one profile and it’s another reason to be conscientious of our audiences. Even if you’re speaking for “yourself” there are people who will quote you on the name of your institution or job. “Bob of New York Widgets says that he hates New York.” Injuring the corporate brand is an inherent risk.

“Should personal content on a personal profile really be used in a punitative way in a professional setting?” If your boss reads your Facebook profile, should it be able to get you fired? If you tweet a message about something, should it result in a public flogging all over the web?

Most agree that it probably shouldn’t. But it doesn’t matter. People still take things out of context personally. If a blog post can even be construed as being negative or directed at someone, the mea culpas will have to be distributed, sometimes “just in case.”

So what do you about? Is separating your professional and personal life inauthentic?

No. It’s a survival tactic in a world where not everyone knows you. While it can be empowering to blog all of your feelings in the off chance that someone, somewhere will read about it and care, it’s a risky move.

For me, Twitter is about networking. LinkedIn has a networking component, though the bar is set a bit higher and Facebook is for people I have existing relationships with and even that’s on a case-by-case basis. The lines are far too blurred and all you need is something to happen.

The key to social networking is realizing that 1) you’re not alone and 2) nothing is private.