Anti-social media?

You may have heard the reports of the City barrister who received a private message commenting on their “stunning” profile picture from a senior Partner in another Law firm following their request to connect via the social networking site LinkedIn.  The subsequent reactions following their decision to publish the exchange, in full, with no redactions to hide the identity of the persons involved, has divided opinion.

The recipient of the message, an avowed, published, and self-described Feminist, has become the centre of a now-viral whirlwind of opinion, comment and also, the all-too-familiar “trolling”.  Did they overreact, or was it an entirely justified action?  Were they being too sensitive or should the protagonist have been "called out"?

I don’t want to get into the discussion as to who was right or wrong on this topic.  What does interest me, though, is a huge issue that many of us familiar with social media will have encountered:  miscommunication.   A face-to-face conversation in which all participants can engage with facial reactions, body language and other physical nuances are difficult, if not impossible, to convey via WhatsApp, iMessage and the like.  This very often leads to misunderstandings of intent or the message that is meant to be conveyed, which can clearly lead to a whole new conversation where the actual point trying to be made maybe has to be apologised for, but definitely clarified in plainer language.  Whilst the advent of social media has made connectivity to others far easier – too easy, some might say? – its ability to promote misunderstanding and misapprehension seems to be developing apace.

LinkedIn is a great business tool, and particularly within recruitment and HR.  Every social platform has a target audience which - given the nature of the internet beast - is very fluid and changeable.  For example, Facebook went from being the “young people’s darling” to being more of a place where the younger generations connect with their families, whilst using other platforms such as Snapchat and WhatsApp to communicate with friends and peer groups, but LinkedIn has remained as the platform for Business for many years now and I would hazard that most on that site use it exclusively for that.   However, there is definitely an argument that, whilst you probably wouldn’t use it to post pictures of your Aprés-Ski party in the South of France, or your cat’s latest exploits, it’s probably prudent to take a look at the image that you’re circulating to other business users on that site.

The Senior Partner in the above-mentioned episode stated on City law message board RollOnFriday that he felt “Most people post pretty unprofessional pictures on LinkedIn”, and whilst I wouldn't necessarily say “most”, I would agree that sometimes profiles on this site can give an impression of a person that’s not exactly dripping in professionalism! 

Not everyone has access to professional photographs which are sometimes part of the induction process in some companies.  However, it should not be too difficult to find a location where there’s a background that’s not too “busy”, and a helpful friend to assist with a head-and-shoulders shot of you in industry-appropriate clothing.   Mind you, if you work in the Aprés-Ski industry, it’s maybe worth ignoring my comment above and going for the party-look!

Also, I’d recommend looking at what you’re posting on your social media.  If, for example, your Facebook profile isn’t public, and you’re not connected with colleagues who may not appreciate it, you have a lot more freedom to post less-polished language or behaviour.  However, LinkedIn profiles tend to be public, and your language, behaviour and interactions with other members are much more freely seen - and forwarded, re-posted and (in the case mentioned above) retweeted for the world to see.

We all know these days that nothing on the Internet is truly private, and whilst we all need a place where we can blow off steam, do be mindful about who can see your profiles and comments on the marketplace, as the strange thing about viral images is that no-one can control when, who or how they happen, as has been shown very effectively in the City this week.