Social media and your career

During this class session, we discussed the level of cautiousness we should have when posting on social media, weather or not it is the employers business what they find online about a specific person, and if it should matter.

I found our class discussion very interesting with there being many different takes on the topic, where some people in class thought it's none of the employers business what an employee does outside of work or on social media, while others thought it matters and it is relevant to work as it could harm the image or the brand or business.

Overall it was a relatively heated debate, and in my opinion, I feel like it should matter to the business what it's employers post on social media because at the end of the day it is their reputation that's on the line. Not that they should control what others do in their private lives, but only that they should be able to have the right to fire a person based on that. Because one's actions could damage a brand name.

An example of this is the Virgin airlines staff being accused of racism after a social media post, as billionaire tycoon Richard Branson once advised, "as social media expands, we also have to be careful about how it is used." As well as, "before you post send a tweet or post a comment, ask yourself if you would be happy to say that to someone face to face" (Zhang, 2016)

My own advice when it comes to this topic is to learn from situations like the example I gave above as well as not being stubborn minded and listening to those who are successful when it comes to managing a personal social media account, and having it associated with the company you work for.

References

C. (2014, January 5). Caution: Social Media. Retrieved July 15, 2017, from https://www.chelseacrockett.com/wp/lifestyle/caution-social-media/

Zhang, B. (2016, March 18). Richard Branson writes a heartfelt letter after Virgin airline staffers were accused of racism. Retrieved July 15, 2017, from http://www.businessinsider.com/richard-branson-caution-social-media-virgin-airline-accused-racism-2016-3