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Topic of the Week: How Visible Should You Be Online?

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Topic of the Week  How Visible Should You Be Online?

Go Online!
• DO post a viral video.
• DO engage social networks.
• DO join the blogosphere.
• DON'T try to control.

Who has time for Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter AND work?

Tweets, Gchat, Facebook and text messages, oh my! It's hard not to be a bit overwhelmed trying to stay on top of today's technology. It's tough individually and it's even tougher for corporations to sort out. Which reminds me of my parent's first DVD player. They had no idea what to do with it. It was the same with all my friend's folks and many of my own friends, too.

Before we were begin making fun of other people's challenges staying on top of new technology and yet how many of us currently have a plan for Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin? How many of us even know how to use half the features on our computers or phones? Staying up on current technology often seems like a full time job. That's why I've listed three Do's and one Don't below to help you, and your organization, get more engaged in cyberspace (remember when we used to call it that?).

DO post a viral video. I've posted a bunch of videos on YouTube, a speakers video, TV segments, etc. After all, what good do those videos do sitting on a shelf? However, there are a lot of videos out there, so be happy if you can create something that can get a few thousand people to view, forget that wedding dance video and it's millions of views. After all, the worst that can happen is that more people will discover you or your company.

DO engage social networks. It was weird to learn that companies were creating Facebook and MySpace pages, how something created for kids could be co-opted by the corporate crowd. But that misses the point. Whoever builds something that people want to see, whether it's a corporation or an individual will gather the eyeballs. The cool part is a lot of individuals are giving the big money folks a run for their money.

DO join the blogosphere. Blogs used to be reserved for exhibitionists and weirdoes. Okay, they still do have a high percentage of both of those. But the blogosphere is also full of information and opinions about products, you don't want to be a passive participant here.

DON'T try to control. I can remember a VP of a company going crazy because I didn't replicate the logo exactly on a press release many years ago. Well the chance for a corporation to control today's online zoo is practically nonexistent. Foster a dialogue realizing that you won't like some of it. But the more you get heavy handed about disagreements, the less people will feel like it's a community worth participating in.

The only thing worse than not knowing how to use a DVD player, is to be totally invisible in today's very visible online universe.

About the Author: Bob Rosner is a best-selling author and award-winning journalist. For free job and work advice, check out the award-winning workplace911.com. If you have a question for Bob, contact him via bob@workplace911.com.

Thought of the Week

"If you don't trust your employees to tweet freely, it's an employee or leadership issue, not an employee Twitter policy issue."

–Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos Shoes.

Weekly Comic by Jerry King

Blog of the Week

Top Five News Headlines

List of the Week

from CareerBuilder.com

Employers are watching you:

• 64% of employers use social networking sites to research candidates
• 15% are planning to check out candidates online in the future

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