How do YOU make distinction between personal and business communication?

[mindykoch]

Personally, I try to keep EVERYTHING I do/say/favorite very g-rated.

I don't distinguish other than that. My twitter feeds... my daughter can read on her facebook page and so can members of my church who see my facebook feeds. My facebook interactions... all very clean... because I have business friends, relatives, and church/work associates who all can see my feed.

Since all of my twitter tweets are sucked into the vacuum that is google.. I keep them clean because I don't ever want them to bite me in the booty.

Frankly, I use my name as my userid everywhere. So I have to keep it all clean for my kids/mother/future business contacts who might ever google my name.

My stumbles, my diggs, my sphinns, my youtube... everything. At least, I hope I have. I have really tried to.

[lewister]

The only thing I have drawn a box around in the online sphere is my LinkedIn account. I truly treat it like an online resume (and I need to add some info now!) and as my "professional" face online. Professional as in what has to do with my 9-5 job, which is professional service firm marketing. Now, everything I'm learning doing this internet marketing thing is applicable to my regular job and I don't post or do anything that would be embarrassing/inappropriate, but I just don't feel pictures of my dogs or comments on the new Joss Whedon show are relevant for my "professional" space. So nothing else I do is actually included in my LinkedIn account. But that's the only place where I do that. Other than that, it's all me, all the time.

I never even thought about a need to keep parts of my life segregated until I started a Facebook account. Suddenly my Squidoo friends were mixing with my family and church friends and former high school friends and colleagues. All the circles of my world began to collide. It was weird.

[chrislrob]

Interesting comments.

I think my biggest problem is that I'm not G-rated.

And if I try to act that way online, it is probably going to seem inauthentic to most people. And it is definitely going to seem inauthentic to me.

Look, I drink (a little), gamble (a small amount), and cuss (too much). I'm opinionated. Stubborn. Occasionally crude. I'm fascinated by the strange (like giant squid) and the un-hip (like the American Civil War).

I like to hear myself talk.

Should I have an online persona that reflects these things?

And if I do, is it possible that the business will suffer? (My immediate thought: "Guess that depends on the business." Hmmm....)

And yes, I have some unambiguously positive points in my favor: highly-educated, started several small businesses, civic-minded, happily-married, ex-military, often funny, occasionally charming.

But I'm not worried about *that* stuff.

In the last week I've: attended a breastfeeding class (I'm a guy!); worked on a new real world business plan ; yelled at the History Channel for even suggesting that deep-sea frozen methane gas bubbles were responsible for the Bermuda Triangle; prepared for a short talk I'm giving about entrepreneurship tonight; and toasted Senator Jesse Helms death.

That's who I am. And that's who I want to be online. And I have to admit, I have my doubts about whether that's good for business.

[cmiddlebrook]

Great question, I struggled with this for ages but its easier now. I tend to just be 'me' everywhere - on my blog, on Facebook, Twitter etc. For instance I have found my tweets shifting a bit (and my stumbles for that matter) over the last few months. There's less Internet Marketing stuff and more on law of attraction, happiness, personal growth etc. I realise that in a way this my alienate my earlier audience but at least then I am always myself, which is all I can ever be.

So far I have not marketed my niche stuff in a very web 2.0 way, I'm still not entirely sure how I'll handle that if I find that a niche I delve into actually takes off and I want to use web 2.0 for promotion. But that issue is more due to the fact that my name is in the public eye so I dont want to reveal my niches.

I still haven't figured that out heh!

[chrislrob]

Thanks for your reply, Caroline.

I am thinking of doing some mini sites in niches that wouldn't be connected to me at all, so no problem there. But I also think that the 2.0 world is a way to get a lot of leverage for your business.

As I once heard it said, "All things being equal, people want to do business with people they like. And, all things being unequal, people still want to do business with people they like."

It occurs to me that what I'm really concerned about is that a lot of people won't like me. And as someone that is considering niche marketing, that doesn't make a lot of sense.

[Caro]

Originally Posted by chrislrob

In the last week I've: attended a breastfeeding class (I'm a guy!); worked on a new real world business plan ; yelled at the History Channel for even suggesting that deep-sea frozen methane gas bubbles were responsible for the Bermuda Triangle; prepared for a short talk I'm giving about entrepreneurship tonight; and toasted Senator Jesse Helms death.

That's who I am. And that's who I want to be online. And I have to admit, I have my doubts about whether that's good for business.

Well I find that fascinating and involving - it shows YOU. So I'd be interested in YOU online with that sort of description.

If you expected me to yell at the TV and celebrate the death of another - that'd be a different thing of course as that would mean you're looking to me to validate who you are; rather than you just be it - which you seem to be doing a good job of being!

You sound rich (not talking $ - more quality/depth) and multi-dimensional.

I think it's important too to remember - that not everyone appeals to us and we them.

I know I am attracted to 'real and warm' people - and what I call 'real & warm' might have different 'criteria' to what another may.

I also remember that if I am not drawn to someone - rather than make them wrong and judge them - it's more that they are not right for me and I wish them well.

This is a great thread!

Caro

PS: What else do you shout at the TV about!?

[chrislrob]

Thank you for your thoughts, Caro.

What else do I yell at my tv about?

Whew...

Bad commercials
Pandering politicians
Furniture with tassels
The entire "Miami Vice" movie

And the list goes on and on!

Chris

P.S. You're right, this is a good thread!

[drmani]

Originally Posted by chrislrob

That's who I am. And that's who I want to be online. And I have to admit, I have my doubts about whether that's good for business.

Great point. And John-Paul Micek addressed it in a comment on my
blog post, you can read JP's comment here:

Money.Power.Wisdom - WHAT are you ALWAYS selling?

That one post has received 1,987 unique visitors this past two days,
and has sparked off the most instructive discussion by means of
comments that I've ever had before on my blog!

All success
Dr.Mani

[ScottSharpe]

I've been keeping up on this thread. I have to say its one of the best forum discussions I've seen in a long time.

This is something I've struggled with and I still seem to be adapting and figuring this out as I go a long.

When I first started working on my blog (cancel that..my "internet presence") and 30DC I went under a pen name ("Andrew Patrick"). Like most people I wanted everyone to like me, so I ended up catering to what I thought people wanted to hear/read (as far as my videos and blog posts went).

I found myself making video after video...only to eventually delete them. Yes I got subscribers, comments, emails etc but...I wasn't really being myself at all and I'm sure people could see through that.

My mentality was in the numbers. The more people I could appeal to the more "followers" and subscribers I would have. This might be true but I've changed my approach. I'm having a lot more fun and getting better results.

It took me awhile to realize what I'm about to say but..

Sometime within the past 2-3 months I got the revelation that everyone isn't going to like me. lol. And thats 100% ok with me now.

It wouldn't be fair for me to think otherwise...because lets face it...we all have different "values" and opinions in life and we all have certain people we just don't like.

I'm a "family friendly" type of person. I don't cuss much, unless I'm really really mad....don't drink that much at all...and I consider myself a "spiritual" person.

If I end up attracting people like me, great...if ppl like me who are totally opposite awesome! It doesn't matter anymore because I'm finally being myself.

One thing I will say. I don't talk about politics or really really sensitive issues online...unless its something I'm really passionate about.

A good video I found recently: "The Dreaded Google Paper Trail" by Diane Hochman

Yeah...after I watched that I started thinking more long-term. Do I want to put a video out there that can be found 30-50 years from now?

I dunno...I'm still learning. Getting better at this day by day.

- Scott

[chrislrob]

Originally Posted by drmani

Great point. And John-Paul Micek addressed it in a comment on my
blog post, you can read JP's comment here:

Money.Power.Wisdom - WHAT are you ALWAYS selling?

Thanks, Dr.Mani. I think JP also makes great points. So if I understand correctly, we need to focus on proving our ability to give value to people and not just on being "real". We sometimes misuse transparency as a way of showing people that we have nothing to hide and THEREFORE they should trust us to deliver on what we promise and THEREFORE they should do business with us. But clearly he is right--if what we show them through our transparency is shoddy or obnoxious or undesirable, they STILL won't deal with us.

And our transparency will only serve to make them very clear on why not!

So we need to find a way to communicate who we are without highlighting the worst we have to offer. And while highlighting the best we have to offer.

But there's the rub. Because for so many of us, the web has become like a second home. It is that safe place where we can be who we are without worrying about lenses or filters. For some people, it is the ONLY place where they can be who they are.

And I think the struggle comes with the feeling that some (like Scott's Diane Hochman video and JP) seem to suggest that you will have to choose to be a "businessperson" online or a person that feels more genuine to you (unless you happen to be lucky enough to have an all-around pleasing disposition).

I don't think that's necessarily any more unreasonable in the internet marketplace than in the brick-and-mortar marketplace (how many of us practically wear a mask to work?), but it does smack of your playground going corporate.

And Scott, I agree completely with not talking about sensitive issues online in my business portals (my internet workplace), but I can't accept not talking about sensitive issues online AT ALL (my internet world), because of worries that someone will Google me and find it. And as I've said, that would seem to be a problem.

(Man, this post reminds me of an old quote: " “I didn't have time to write a short letter, so I wrote a long one instead.”!)