Don’t think what you say online matters? Think again!
Example 1: Facebook Fail
On Facebook, Dan Leone, a now former employee of the Philadelphia Eagles, posted this status update:
“Dan is ******* devastated about Dawkins signing with Denver…Dam Eagles are Retarded.”
Result: FIRED from working with the Philadelphia Eagles! DOH!
Example 2: Twitter Twit
On Twitter, one job seeker who was offered a job Tweeted this:
“Cisco just offered me a job! Now I have to weigh the utility of a fatty paycheck against the daily commute to San Jose and hating the work.”
To which someone at Cisco responded:
“Who is the hiring manager. I’m sure they would love to know that you will hate the work. We here at Cisco are versed in the web.”
FAIL! No job!
In this economy (and with the Internet’s memory) it’s going to be a LONG time before either person finds a new one.
So what can we learn from this?
First, people are listening to what you have to say. If you use Google Alerts, or do a Twitter search, or watch your Facebook news feed, you can see what folks are saying in near real-time.
Second, everything you say online is captured FOREVER and it will be re-broadcast all over the world. The Cisco guy now has pages and pages of “re-tweets” for the phrase “cisco fatty” and there are 309 (soon to be 310) Google blog searches for “cisco fatty.”
Here’s the lesson:
Think twice before saying “Sally is a fat head” or “I hate my boss Phil!” Folks are listening. You probably are friends with someone who knows someone who knows someone who is friends with your boss, your co-worker, or your HR director.
What can YOU learn from this?
Sources:
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Never tweet anything you wouldn’t want to have your mother see on a billboard.
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Dave – GREAT suggestion!
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Excellent post! This should be a good reminder for anyone who tweets or facebooks their true feelings about their employment—or any other important factor in their life.
I’m a graphic designer and I see this all the time. Mostly, young people new in the game and not living their dream. Some have a tendency to express their true negative feelings about their current position. And, whether or not this lands them in the unemployment line is due to whether or not their employer is up to speed with the current social networking trends—or for that matter, just plain old google.
As a rule of thumb, I like to keep any tweets, status’ and blog posts upbeat and positive. What I put on the internet is out there for the whole world to see, and not just my friends.
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Melinda – you make a great point:
Even if you think you’re whispering in a friend’s ear…you’re NOT!
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Actually, my mom – who doesn’t know which end of an Internet you sick in the turkey and which end you have to hand dry – taught me how to handle these situations when I was a child:
“If you don’t have something nice to say about somebody, don’t say anything at all.”
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Another great piece of advice. Thanks David!
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This is so true, Phil. I am always talking to my 16 year old grandaughter to be careful, especially with pictures, that she puts on her Facebook page. No party variety.
It could bite her later.
On the other hand, I just found two long lost cousins on Twitter! We are having fun reuniting. It can work for good too!
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Parties photos are fine…just use your head.
And I agree, you can find tons of ways to use new media for good
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Wow! What a way to know you were not going to get the job! Social Media is such a great tool, but it takes constant reminders like this to refresh our memories and realize that things said there can impact our lives.
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Just like chocolate…One moment on the lips, one year without a job.
Wait…that’s nothing like chocolate
Thanks Pete!
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Great post, Phil. I’ve been telling people for years that the stuff they send into cyberspace will still be there long after they are dust unto the lives of their children’s children’s children’s etc. forever and ever.
And that includes emails, resumes, and records—even when the court orders them removed. They migrate, are fruitful and multiply beyond anything people imagine.
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Great point Miki! You put it out there, it’s there…FOREVER!
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Phil,
I raised this issue earlier this week …asking what rights/responsibilities do both employers and employees have in terms of what the employee says or does on social networking sites.
I’d love your thoughts.
http://tinyurl.com/cvud4g
Drew
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Great post. Thank you Drew.
In my opinion, if you say something on line, it’s the same as if you said it in person. Keep your critical opinions to yourself, or risk retribution.
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Phil –
A sobering reminder of the need to watch what we’re putting out there in the world. Aside from my professional presence on FB, Twitter and LinkedIN, I originally joined mySpace to keep on eye on what my now-16-year-old nephew is doing. I tell you, some of the stuff on his page is enough to curl my hair but trying to explain that to a teenager is like talking to my Great Dane. Possibly even less effective, since the dog does sit when I tell him to.
Job-seekers (and hiring managers) need to be aware of the impact of social media sites in their job search and hiring decisions. I’m putting together a talk for some HR professionals about using social media in job search and had planned to use the Cisco story as an example of what NOT to do if you’re a job seeker, and what companies can do to learn more about their prospective hires.
Truly, a cautionary tale for the times.
Thanks.
Joan
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Joan – I agree that it is VERY hard to convince people that your online profile matters. I don’t think that’s an age thing with just your teenager. I’ve talked to folks who say they have 2 Facebook profiles, like that is going to make a difference.
The only way to convince folks is to share cautionary tales like this and hope they resonate with the folks who need to hear it. While I like to focus on positive news, stories like this must be shared so folks get it.
Glad you’re out there telling the tales too! We need more folks like YOU!
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Phil:
Great, eye-opening post! I still have not created a Facebook or Twitter account. But I do have a LinkedIn acct. Funny thing – when I invited an old co-worker to be my new LinkedIn contact, he urged me to create a Facebook account so we could communicate that way. Is e-mail old school? Or is it me who is old-school?
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Tim – I like both LinkedIn and Twitter, though I use them for very different things. I’d encourage you to try both and see what you like.
And no, you’re not old school…nor is e-mail. It’s really about the preferences of the person you’re communicating with. It’s up to you to decide if you want to move to their preferred medium (Facebook) or stick with yours (email).
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I Facebook’d a negative comment about Mark Knopfler’s voice today. (http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=616960878&ref=nf#/profile.php?id=616960878&ref=mf) should I be concerned??
hehe…
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Only if you want to play in his band
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Phil -
My only concern with this lies in circumstances such as my own. I had been a manager at a local company and had been with them for 3 and a half years. During this timeframe I was promoted 3 times, never received any disciplinary action, and consistently had strong performance reviews. Yesterday I was fired for complaining about my job on my facebook status. NOW, however I am very aware that perhaps this may be wrong or not the smartest… I also have my profile privacy blocked so that you would have to be my friend to see it. With that in mind, it was not as if I was providing this “Complaint” to the entire world wide web, and in fact, there would have been very very few people that worked for this company that would have seen this. I also never named the company, any other employee names, etc…
How am I still in the wrong and losing my job over this? Don’t I have some sort of protection that at least requires them to not only warn me that they think this is an issue, but provide me with some sort of documentation on how I violated a policy??
Emilie – This is a REALLY tough situation to be in. I’m going to think more about it and get you an answer soon.
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Ugh, no kidding… Facebook got me fired last week, too.
I think the people at the top are just power tripping. Personally – that’s my idea, especially if you have a very good performance and a simple complaint got you fired. Well, my case is a little harsh – I ranted about my company but didn’t really mention their name. They still got rid of me, and threatens me with a libel lawsuit…
I’m just a childish blogger… oh yeah, also a stupid one (and yeah I’m not really old yet). Looks like, I learned things the hard way.
I’m sorry to hear this Emily. I’m sorry you had to learn this the hard way.
I wouldn’t say this is power tripping…I’d say there were probably other reasons (maybe unsaid reasons) and this was just the icing on the cake.
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It is indeed a sad day when a person who may love their job, as I do, but at times can find themselves frustrated and bored with it. We need to be able to vent ourselves to keep from exploding or becomming withdrawn. Being bored at times does not mean I don’t like my job it just means that the tedium or routine is above par. It is not very realistic for anyone to constantly be skipping through their office sing praises of happiness with being at work, I mean when I am bored at home I don’t consider work as a cure for that. you would think that employers would want employees to feel secure in their jobs knowing that it’s not always a fun and superfantastic way to spend a day. I think if I wanted to get rid of someone I might use that as an excuse and if someone saying that they are bored is the worste thing you can come up with then hang on to them, because what if they were happy to be there but they’re work ethic sucked wich is worse
Joseph – If you’re bored with your job, find a way to be proactive and bust out of the boredom. If it gets to be too much, find a new job.
And you’re right, work isn’t always fun. That’s why it’s called work. If it were all fun, you’d either be extremely fortunate…or you wouldn’t be working.
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I got fired last week for saying
“just found out thru the grapevine i am being laid off and my boss a “chicken shit” to tell me”.
but now i know better then to add coworkers from corporate as my friends!!
hard lesson. and no unemployment!
Tough lesson meirahs. Anything you say can and will be used against you. Best to complain to your family or those who don’t work with you.
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My question is THey have right to say it because of our LAW said we have Freedom Speech to say anything? There one student did write on facebook about teacher is lousy. That student get kick out for writing on facebook. Few years later as law suit and win from freedom speech. If I did get fired by facebook comment on it, should I turn around and tell them breaking law from freedom speech?
I am currently waiting on the state to decide if i did anything wrong. My employer tried to say i started the “rumor mill” and that my facebook comment forced them to move up the annoucement of them closing our branch. (they where going to annouce it on wednesday and they moved it to monday–woo). However, i was really a victim of the rumor mill, hence my comment of “hearing thru the grapevine”. I dont think i should be punished for hearing something someone else leaked out. I am hoping that i dont have to appeal a denial, but you can bet the federal judge’s decision in the florida case will be something i surely will bring up!
I am hearing what many of you have to say about social networking being a public forum and therefore one should censor their self so-to-speak because it can negatively impact their employment status or potential employment, but last I checked I had some pretty strong first amendment rights and those rights are protected. Has anyone who has been fired over a status or tweet sought legal counseling? I know I am going to. After being demoted yesterday for a Facebook Status I am seeking out my rights. First and foremost the status wasn’t even slander. It didn’t name even name my company. I simply made a statement about “my job’s” lack of advertising sales and discounts during a deep recession. Personally I find it paramount to any good business’ success. Either way I am not a fan of censorship. I have an opinion and should be able to voice that opinion. More importantly, I think my employer needs to take a hard look in the mirror and analyze the beast they have created. Closed door policies and trashing your employees on a daily basis does manifest unhappy and angry employees. And hard economic times means employees put up with being trashed in order to survive. Either way I am not taking their actions lightly and no employee should. Moreover, a facebook, twitter, or myspace profile is not a great judge of the type of employee you are going to get. Our personal life is separate from our work. As long as what I do off hours doesn’t impact what I do on hours leave me alone.
I have not sought legal advice…yet. I am waiting to see if the unemployment commission decides if i was terminated for cause. If they side with me, then i am going to seek legal advice, because i was screwed out of my severance pay also. my company closed down the division and everyone else was provide with severance and so many weeks to complete their work. I was not. hope to know in the next few weeks if my first ammendment rights are violated or not!
After I stopped laughing at the original mention of First Amendment rights, I decided not to say anything, but the persistent whining of people fired for not having any sense finally pushed me into it.
In an interview, Cokie Black “urged women just starting out in their careers to “do everything and more. Come early. Stay late. It’s not only about the hours you put in; it’s about the attitude you bring to work.”
After spending more than 25 years as a recruiter I can guarantee you that attitude isn’t something you turn on and off like a water faucet. Knowing that, managers assume that the attitude reflected in a person’s social media postings will be the same attitude the person brings to the job. Not only attitude, but traits such as discretion, common sense, etc.
There is an only saying about email that goes, “Don’t put anything in an email that you wouldn’t want to see on the front page of the New York Times” and that goes double for social media.
I find it laughable that the generation that pushes for the open environment of social media has no understanding that open = public and you can’t really choose who sees what. You may post only to friends, but you have no real control on what they do with it the information or pictures.
You may find it’s also a good idea to remember that that employment these days is “at will.
Instead of pouting and crying “not fair” you might instead want to use this as an opportunity to mature.
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Gotta say, I’m completely with Miki on this one. If you’re a whiner, you don’t have first amendment to fall back on. You’re AT WILL and need to behave as such.
If you don’t like what’s going on, you need to raise the problem in a positive way, in a way that can help change the situation. Whining about it on Facebook or on Twitter is proof that you’re not the best person for the job. It’s a tough lesson, but it’s true. If you’re not intelligent enough to keep your whining off of public places, you deserve to be terminated for poor judgement.
Hopefully you’ve learned your lesson and you won’t be whining in public again about how unfair and how crappy your boss is. As someone who manages people, I’m under no illusion that I’m perfect, but I don’t need to be constantly reminded of it on my employee’s public Facebook and Twitter pages.
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Hasn’t anyone ever heard about Dooce? http://is.gd/9sabO
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I just got fired today for voicing my opinion about the morals of the company on twitter. i know that was stupid, especially to put the name of the company in the tweet. It’s what i really felt, but i didn’t think about how it would affect me or the actual company and the people that work there. I am truly sorry for that. Not really complaining about it because for the same morality reason i was planning on quitting the day after anyway. But yes, watch what you post on social networking sites!!!