Back in the 70s, my friends used to come over and watch in awe as I played games on our family’s little Mac with the cute multi-colored apple logo on the monitor.
My father was a successful computer scientist and programmer with NASA and NOAA, and so we were the first ones in our neighborhood to have a home computer.
Dad died more than 27 years ago. He had always advised me never to socialize with the people I work with; he believed people should keep their private life separate from their professional life. So I often wonder what this early adopter of computer technology would think about the cultural phenomenon that is social networking.
Many people thrive on putting their daily activities and innermost thoughts out there for the world (or at least their friends or followers) to see. Chances are good that a friend-of-a-friend is the friend of a co-worker, so it’s common sense to think twice before posting pictures of yourself getting your drink on or tweeting about how much you cannot stand your job.
Those of us in the public relations profession have always had rules about separating one’s personal and professional lives, especially when counseling C-level execs. We advise clients to think carefully before firing off a letter to the editor that’s based on personal opinion, since their position may be taken as representative of their company’s stance on a particular issue. Sometimes the two don’t match up, and that could be problematic.
Is that limiting free speech? To some degree, I suppose it is. But it’s worth the time to thoughtfully consider ways to express personal views that don’t cross the boundaries between home life and work life.
Now that the means to communicate quickly, easily and broadly have increased so dramatically, it’s more important than ever to think twice before posting your answer to the question: “What’s on your mind?”