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[Dulciana]

I'm in a huge quandary over whether or not to use social media, for work purposes.  Hubby says, don't touch it with a barge-pole; daughter and others in my field say go for it.   I've started accounts with both Facebook and Twitter, but then got cold feet and deleted them both.  I can see that social media is the way forward these days, particularly for work, but I'm scared of all my information being "out there".  Who uses Facebook or Twitter, to support their work?  Would you recommend either of them?   Am I being unnecessarily cautious about the whole thing??       I could really do with some advice here.
Thanks, Dulciana.
 

[booboo]

I personally tend to steer clear of all that - I have a facebook account but never post on it & just don't feel comfortable with people identifying me and knowing personal stuff ...I know it seems the way of the world now & it amazes me sometimes how much info people put out there...Its a very personal & individual decision I think - I just would not feel comfortable and experience anxiety, so its not for me...Writing on here is brave ( for me) but then no one knows who we are ...

[Scampi]

I use Facebook for personal use (don't understand Twitter!), and I have my settings nailed down so I have control over who sees what.  We also have an employee Facebook group at work, and the company I work for has public Facebook and Twitter accounts (we have a small team who operate these accounts full-time and they are valuable real-time feedback and customer service tools for us - I work for a train operating company).

I think the key is to make sure your security settings are right  - is there someone else in your field whom you can trust who could help you set up your account(s)?  I have Facebook privacy settings very high (basically, only people I have approved as 'friends' can see anything about me except my name and posts I make on other people's feeds - you can't control that so always think about what you write in reply), but I don't know if that would work for a business account - you may need to be more 'visible'.

I have bought several small items from traders I only know about because of Facebook, so it definitely does work as a business tool.

[Cider]

It depends by what you mean by "work purposes"

If you have your own business or are self employed I think it is essential to have a social media presence these days.  You can control what you have out there and who sees it, and if it is for work, then you wouldn't have so much personal info on there.  If you mean for networking there is a site called Linkedin - that is especially for that reason.  People head hunt and are head hunted from there.

Just because you have facebook or twitter doesn't mean you HAVE to share personal information and your dirty laundry. Many people do, but that is up to them. I have two FB accounts.  One for family and people I work with - on which I share very little information, and another which is private where I share whatever the hell I like and have friends that follow my interests and hobbies.

[Joyce]

I have FB only, but have very tight security on it. One of my friends runs a company through FB & as far as I'm aware hasn't encountered any problems. She created a private group & only those in the group are contacted or can contact her.

[Dulciana]

This is all really helpful - I'm extremely grateful for all this advice so far, which has given me plenty of food for thought.  I'm going to chew it all over when I've got a bit of free time, later today.  I'm self-employed and freelance (musician) and what I've picked up by quickly glancing through, is that it might be a good thing.............

[Cider]

As a musician I would say you definitely need to be on social media, and as active as you can be. You dont need to share anymore personal information than you want to.  Good luck!

[babyjane]

Just make sure you have your security settings tight.  I didn't and was hacked by a stalker who got hold of my e mail and mobile phone number.  It was scary.  I deleted my account everywhere for some months and had to change my mobile number.

Now I only use FB for immediate family and very closest friends now to keep up with what our children and grandchildren are doing and I only have 9 ''friends'.

[Taz2]

I think that you do need it but you could do as my son has and set up a separate account for the business side of things. He has a musician page and his own personal page on FB.

Taz x

[CLKD]

Nope.  I like Forums where 'chat' is allowed, some are very strict and insist on the 'topic' being adhered to with no deviation.  I think Social Media was a 'good' idea but it has got way out of hand.  Don't start me on FaceBook 'friends'!!!! 

Do you have time is the other point, to sit hour after hour 'chatting' with people who you could send a snail mail communication to 

[Dulciana]

Nope.  I like Forums where 'chat' is allowed, some are very strict and insist on the 'topic' being adhered to with no deviation.  I think Social Media was a 'good' idea but it has got way out of hand.  Don't start me on FaceBook 'friends'!!!! 

Do you have time is the other point, to sit hour after hour 'chatting' with people who you could send a snail mail communication to 

CLKD, thanks for this. 
After thinking a lot about whether to be in or out of social media, I think I really need to put all my energies into updating my website.  Thanks to every single person who's helped me with this.   You've all helped me solve my quandary!   

[CLKD]

Someone might try to 'find' me on SM   

[Taz2]

Only if you want them to..... 

Taz  x

[CLKD]

that'll be 'friends' then 

[BrightLight]

I use both FB and twitter for work. As others have said you can keep the privacy settings tight and have a work email so everything is fenced as it were.

I also think as a musician you have a great opportunity to create a 'profile' that enhances your work. On twitter if you retweet or follow certain people, events, organisations you start to build a profile that represents your place within the community, your interests, your passions etc. I think it can be hugley positive. FB is a bit more work in my opinion, but good for events, to promote if you need to sell tickets etc or advertise teaching.

You can use social media software that posts automatically, so that you don't have to be present every day to keep things up to date, because social media only really works if you drip feed a steady input of content. So posting once a month isn't going to really benefit you - you will get 'lost' in the sea of 'stuff'