The Social Media Announcement
A co-worker of mine received a message via Facebook from his mother in law: a simple “hello there.” Thinking she already knew her other daughter was pregnant, my colleague posted a big “Congratulations!” on her wall. Naturally, the pregnancy was news to her—and he was lambasted for spoiling the surprise. The cruel lesson he learned was that sometimes news travels faster in social media than in real life.
In business, similar scenarios are just as likely — and quite possibly more dangerous. If you have an itchy trigger finger and have the urge to get that press release, media advisory, or product announcement out there (via Twitter, Facebook, blogs, etc.) before the official “green light” has been given, think again. Social media carries remarkable speed, and once it’s out of your hands, there’s no delete button to make it all better.
So let’s hear from you: Is the intersection of personal and professional via social media more likely to create opportunity or disaster?
Comment below to tell us what you think and why — in 140 characters or less (Tweet-length). We’ll run the five best responses (along with your name, website and Twitter handle, if you so choose) in SmartBrief on Social Media, right here on our SmartBlog and via @sbosm.