Where Are You Going?

Hi Greg. Thanks for your thoughts. I'm not offended. Opinions are good. I agree about Google Reader and other tools like it - they are underutilized. Perhaps that will be in an upcoming post!

Kelly,Thanks for taking the time to stop by my blog. I know what you mean when you say that you constantly have to keep reminding students and friends about their social media lives. But my thing is, are these students not reading the news, are they not on the internet basically at all? Normally when we hear about someone getting fired or not hired for a Facebook photo or comment, we hear about it. I mean even as a college student you can hop over to collegehumor.com and see people tearing apart various screenshots of Facebook statuses that have lead to firings. It's not some sort of obscure topic, the information is out there and sometimes it's even quite prominent. Referring to the latter part where you talk about Facebook's "dangers" I think instead of writing posts about how to USE Facebook as a Personal Branding tool and pretty much market one's self; is to instead explain the reasonings of why the privacy is important and how to control these privacy issues, or at least link to places for readers to find out about these topics.Encourage the use of Google Reader for students. I feel like we're not reading as much news as we should these days. If a student engages in constant reading of news, social media, personal branding etc. etc. They will be much better off. Referring to something you said early in your reply, "But many students with whom I work are not and that's the perspective from which I often write." My response to that it that if there is someone reading the SB blog, they most likely already have a bit of Social Media background, or at least in Personal Branding. The key there would be how to engage those students into the resources you're giving.I hope I didn't offend you in my post, I wrote this as an opinion. I am always open for feedback as well.

Hi, Greg. I am the author of the post you mentioned above. I appreciate that you've checked out SB blog and your take on that post in particular. Believe me, as a career advisor, I'm tired of reminding students (and my adult friends) not to post ridiculous photos/comments/etc. on FB. It seems obvious to me, too. But then I come across yet another profile that could potentially threaten a student's brand or a job seeker's efforts. You, clearly, aren't that student. You seem well-versed in social media and how to use it effectively. But many students with whom I work are not and that's the perspective from which I often write.It is helpful to know that readers of SB blog "get it". When I sit down to write posts each week, I wonder what readers want to talk about. What kinds of things would you want to see on SB blog? What would be more engaging?And, to Roper's comment, I can promise it's not an SEO thing. I'm a campus career advisor, not a technology guru or an expert blogger - I have no idea how to manipulate content to drive more traffic to my posts. I simply write what I see and hear and I see A LOT of students that either fear Facebook's "dangers" or are completely oblivious that their inappropriate public profile is ruining the professional image they are trying to project in other places.

I am so tired of the "no s*** sherlock" posts everywhere - outside of just branding. I think blogs do it because of SEO, or just to look like they're more active. I see it all the time in music industry blogs and it gets me so mad when someone posts a "how to guide" of random duh-huh advice. I've promised myself that every blog post I write or email I send will have some valuable content worth reading AND applying.. not just some generic rephrased material. I want people to come back to my site because they know what to expect. As for my personal brand- I've been working on it more and more lately, especially as I get closer to graduation. I'm becoming more active on LinkedIn, but I've noticed that a lot of the people on there are just - well, fake.. I find more valuable connections on Twitter (through the business account) and forums. I often invite valuable connections to my personal profile, to see that I'm not an idiot and build more rapport over time. I think it also matters that I legitimately want to be friends with those professionals, not just leech off of them.