Social Media | Rosetta Thurman

Own Your Opinions

November 10, 2011 by rosettathurman · 2 Comments

My post about Twitter disclaimers really seems to have touched a nerve. In the comments here and on Twitter, folks have been sharing their thoughts about the “tweets are my own” phrase, with several people rethinking their Twitter bios altogether.

Thnx for today's post @rosettathurman! Rethinking my Twitter bio now...

November 8, 2011 4:54 pm via Echofon ReplyRetweetFavorite

@meeshspeaks

Michele Kumi Baer

Love this latest from @RosettaThurman http://t.co/oxarWqVK | Agreed: personal twitter, don include the name of your nonprofit or biz!

November 8, 2011 6:45 pm via TweetDeck ReplyRetweetFavorite

@FundraiserBeth

Beth Ann Locke

Excellent thoughts by @rosettathurman on those silly disclaimers people put in their twitter profiles http://t.co/3oG3s41A

November 9, 2011 11:00 am via TweetDeck ReplyRetweetFavorite

@Indy_Mode

Mandy Valentine

@rosettathurman Just shared your post on FB & Twitter on "opinions not my own". I've been lecturing on this type of SM issues forever!

November 9, 2011 10:34 am via webReply RetweetFavorite

@MRGottschalk

Marla Gottschalk PhD

The consensus seems to be that this conversation is important to have, not only for employees, but employers as well. And I think people are beginning to realize that having a disclaimer in your Twitter bio really means nada in terms of protecting yourself or your job.

I think some, myself included might have felt some security in the disclaimers, but as you point out at the end of the day it matters not. I agree with the general rule of thumb, if you’re worried about who will read it or if it could be taken out of context, don’t post it. – @ToscanoAdvisors

To me, phrases like “opinions are my own” only dilute whatever messages you’re sending out into the world. It implies that you don’t want to take responsibility for what you say online if it happens to relate to your organization. It also makes you look fearful of losing your job because of a Twitter comment. (Ironically, this also doesn’t exactly make your employer look so good, either. Right? I mean, who would want to work at an overly bureaucratic organization that monitors their employees’ tweets? See my post on the Facebook firings at Hispanics United.)

In fact, if your employer is requiring you to have the disclaimer as a condition of employment (yikes!), this might be an opportunity for you to practice leadership by sharing the following articles with your colleagues to let them know how useless (and perhaps even harmful) the current social media policy may be for the organization.

8 Reasons Social Media Policies Backfire
The National Labor Relations Board report detailing the outcome of investigations into 14 cases involving the use of social media and employers’ social and general media policies

The Bottom Line

Whatever you say on Twitter (or Facebook or on your blog, for that matter) are your opinions, and they stand much stronger without the (non)legalspeak. Own them.

Why?

Because that’s what leaders do.

We’ll be talking more about these nuances and more next week on my new webinar, Personal Branding 101: How to Use Social Media to Accelerate Your Career. Join us!

Filed Under: Leadership, Social Media · Tagged With: Leadership, Social Media, social media for nonprofit professionals

Your Tweets Are Not Your Own

November 8, 2011 by rosettathurman · 23 Comments

This post is part of my ongoing Social Media 101 series to encourage leaders to learn more about social media and use it effectively in their life and work.

I love Twitter. It’s one of the social media tools I use most frequently to grow my professional network and build my personal brand. But there’s one thing I’ve noticed lately: some people are putting some weird disclaimers in their Twitter profiles. I mean, we only have 160 characters to tell people how awesome we are in our bios, and there are people out there who are using up at least 17 of them saying things like “tweets are my own” or “opinions are my own.”

Well, who else’s tweets would they be? Your face is the one on your Twitter profile, so . . .

Here’s what I mean, in a few examples (no offense to these folks, but I really think their thoughts stand stronger on their own without the disclaimer):

Contrary to popular belief, you’re not really protecting yourself by putting that little disclaimer out there. (Neither is your employer, for that matter, if their policy governs employee’s use of social media too broadly. See the National Labor Relations Board’s Acting General Counsel report detailing the outcome of investigations into 14 cases involving the use of social media and employers’ social and general media policies. See also: 8 Reasons Social Media Policies Backfire.)

I mean, if you diss your boss on Twitter, you’re still gonna have to face the consequences, yes? If you tweet something that your employer or colleagues find super-offensive or contrary to the mission of your organization, you’ll still have to face the music of them reacting negatively to your opinions. Right? You can’t exactly yell “immunity!” if someone calls you out on a hate-filled Twitter rant.

Here’s another nuance I find curious.

When people state where they WORK in their Twitter profile, but simultaneously assert that their opinions are their own. Um, not exactly. Now that your followers know where you work, it’s pretty hard for them to completely separate your thoughts from the culture of the organization. So if you want to know the truth, your tweets are not 100% your own when you tell the world where you work. And unfortunately, you can’t have it both ways – piggybacking off your organization’s brand and then being able to say whatever you want.

Your tweets are not your own.

Sorry to burst the bubble. But really, let’s stop wasting precious Twitter characters on the disclaimers, shall we? Just be smart about what you say, the same way you would in face-to-face conversations. It seems complex, this business of being human on the internet. But it’s really not.

Just take a look at a few examples of non-disclaimer Twitter profiles:

See? Twitter works just fine without all the (non)legalspeak. Need more advice? Take heed of these simple, yet wise words from @almameeker:

@rosettathurman i try to go by this rule of thumb: if i wouldn't say it in a crowded room of people i respect, i don't say it here.

October 31, 2011 11:48 am via webReply RetweetFavorite

@almameeker

Alma Meeker

Do you have a disclaimer in your Twitter profile? Why or why not?

Filed Under: Social Media · Tagged With: Social Media, Social Media 101, social media for nonprofit professionals

Four Ways to Use Social Media to Build Your Personal Brand in the Nonprofit Sector

November 2, 2011 by rosettathurman · 1 Comment

This post is part of my ongoing Social Media 101 series to encourage leaders to learn more about social media and use it effectively in their life and work.

“Brand yourself for the career you want, not the job you have.” – Dan Schawbel

One of the things Trista and I talk about a lot in our book, How to Become a Nonprofit Rockstar: 50 Ways to Accelerate Your Career is the importance of establishing a great personal brand in your nonprofit career. If you’re having trouble landing that dream job or leadership opportunity, it may be because your personal brand needs some work! The good news though, is that in our evolving digital world, there are infinite opportunities to build a reputable name for yourself in your field - online.

This post explains the basic concept and origins of personal branding. Below, I go a bit deeper to share a few ideas for how you might begin to use the four main social media tools to accelerate your nonprofit career. How can you deliberately grow your professional network and become known as the “go-to” person in your field using blogging, Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn?

Start Blogging

Blogging offers a powerful entry point for anyone who wants to gain greater visibility in the nonprofit industry. In my experience, blogging is hands down, the very best social media tool to use in building your personal brand. It gives you a platform to talk about your expertise and experience. No, not bragging, but simply showing people that you have something meaningful to offer to the field. Blogging also showcases your writing skills, social media savvy, and utter brilliance to your colleagues and future employers.

If you don’t have a blog yet, you can get one now for the low, low price of $0! Sign up at Blogger or WordPress to get a free blog set up and start writing about nonprofit issues that you care about. Or even better, get a more professional-looking self-hosted blog through Bluehost (the web host that I use). For more in-depth blogging advice, download my free 37-page ebook, The Complete Beginner’s Guide to Starting a Blog. Geared toward newbie bloggers, this easy-to-read guide will take you from soup to nuts in terms of your blog concept, software, design, content, promotion and analytics.

Create a LinkedIn Profile

If you’re seeking to build your personal brand in the nonprofit world and you’re not on LinkedIn, you’re missing out on a TON of connections and opportunities. It’s an easy way to get your name ranked favorably in Google search as well as an avenue to meet other nonprofit leaders in your community. LinkedIn is also great for getting the attention of hiring managers and headhunters as 86% of recruiters use social media to research applicants.

Once you join LinkedIn, be sure to fill in your profile completely with a picture, your resume and your bio. To really use the site to its full potential, join some LinkedIn groups associated with the nonprofit industry. I recommend joining the following LinkedIn Groups to build your nonprofit network as well your personal brand: Young Nonprofit Professionals Network, Commongood Careers and The Chronicle of Philanthropy.

Get On Twitter

A lot of nonprofit folks are still skeptical about why they should be on Twitter, but as someone with almost 14,000 Twitter followers, I’ve learned a lot about navigating this tool for my own networking purposes. If you’re not on Twitter yet, get an account here and use your real name as your username. Using your real name makes it easier to associate that name with your personal brand as well as the unique value and expertise you bring to the sector. If your name is already taken as a handle (or is too long), you can always use a variation, or even a combination of your industry and your name, such as @nonprofitnicole. Right away, you know she works in nonprofits and her name is Nicole. Brilliant! (And yes, if you’re using a weird username right now, you can go ahead and change it without losing followers. Go here to learn how.)

After that? Get to know thought leaders in the field like @robertegger. I love how Robert uses Twitter to share his thoughts as a nonprofit CEO and a courageous advocate for change in the sector. You should also keep up with the latest nonprofit news and trends by following @Philanthropy (Chronicle of Philanthropy) and @npquarterly (Nonprofit Quarterly). Then? Set aside tine to tweet at least a few times every day to establish your personal brand and market yourself as a resource in whatever your nonprofit expertise might be. If you share what you know, people will begin to respect you as a professional, regardless of your age or years of experience in the field.

Develop a Facebook Presence

With almost a billion people on Facebook now, the site represents a huge pool of potential folks to promote your personal bran (as well as your blog). But if you’re like me and you don’t want your readers to friend you on your personal Facebook profile, you can create a “page” instead where people can keep up with your blog updates. I started a Facebook page for my blog about two years ago and I’ve been able to use it to connect with my readers and share updates from not only my own blog, but posts from other bloggers in the nonprofit field as well.

Ready to start? Go here to create a Facebook page for yourself. Use one of the following categories for your page: “Artist, Band or Public Figure” (author, writer, public figure, business person) OR “Brand or Product” (website). Next, link to your Facebook page from your blog so people can keep up with your updates. For extra credit, install the Networked Blogs application (it’s free!) to automatically pull in your blog posts to your Facebook wall. Again, your ultimate goal here is to use your Facebook page to build a vibrant community around your personal brand, so stay consistent on your page by posting links, questions, quotes and articles related to the nonprofit sector.

Who Are You on Social Media?

August 30, 2011 by rosettathurman · 10 Comments

This post is part of my ongoing Social Media 101 series to encourage leaders to learn more about social media and use it effectively in their life and work.

For the past few weeks, I’ve been avoiding the shiny new social network everyone’s been talking about: Google Plus. Or is it Google+? Either way, the network already boasts millions of users who are raving about the experience.

Yet, there are lots of reasons for me not to hop onto yet another social network. For one, I’m already on the major ones: LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook . . . with little hope of ever “keeping up” with all the connections I make online. On the other hand, I am self-employed as a speaker, trainer and coach, and these online connections have proven to be critical to the survival of my business. I’m thankful for all the leads, referrals and sales I’ve gained as a result of social media.

But back to Google Plus. What’s really prevented me from jumping into the network head first is the fact that I want to be more intentional about my time online, in particular with how I connect with others on social media.

Who Are You on Social Media?

This question is sort of like asking if you are a different person at work than you are in your personal life. Since most of us use social media for both work and personal purposes, though, there’s more at stake when you’re not being real online. You’re being two different people, and that’s not cool.

With Google Plus, it would have been easy enough to put up my default profile, post the same types of updates and connect with the same types of people I’ve been talking to for years – nonprofit leaders and young professionals. In fact, those were the first people I “circled” on Google Plus. Then I thought a little deeper about that. What was my real intention for being on this particular network? Who was I going to be on Google Plus? For some reason, talking about the same ol’ topics didn’t excite me. I mean, I already talk to those folks on other networks. Why another place where I’ll hear the same information and participate in the same conversations? And it was in that moment that I realized who I am on social media has changed as my values have changed. And subsequently, so has my purpose for being online.

Is Your Online Experience in Alignment with Your Values?

Of course, we all have boundaries of what aspects of ourselves we will or will not share. I’ve shared a great deal about myself online, yet I still feel that I’ve maintained a comfortable level of privacy. Others are loathe to spill any details about who they are under any circumstances. If that’s because you’re a private person, fine. But if it’s about trying to portray yourself as someone you’re not (or hiding the person you really are) then your social media presence may be out of alignment with your values of honesty, transparency and integrity (if those are, in fact, your values).

Four years ago now, I joined Twitter to share my thoughts and connect with others. Over time, it (as well as other social networks) became a place to grow my network and explore my career evolution. Now, the pendulum is swinging back to my deep desire to connect with various types of people and share ideas regarding my personal and professional interests. It is becoming more important to me to have an authentic experience online. As we all spend so much time here as part of our life and work, it has a lot to do with being in alignment with my values and being able to honor all the different aspects of who I am as a person.