jeremyrandall /

My geeky-in-a-smart-and-business-minded-way cousin posted a flow chart on his blog of what he calls his “Online Content Publishing and Community Ecosystem,” where he spells out which social networking and blogging sites he uses for business and personal networking and writing. It’s interesting to see how he decides what and where to write.

I think about things like this too, especially along the lines of personal branding. I have various guidelines I’ve developed for myself about what kinds of things I’ll post and where. I think it’s important to have good boundaries for what is posted on public forums like blogs and Twitter. I think those who “overshare” tend to put themselves at risk when it comes to finding jobs or meeting people. If employers, clients or even potential partners think someone is unprofessional or a trainwreck, they’ll look for someone else.

I keep things positive and focus less on my personal-life and more on bigger-picture interests. When I do share personal information I think through the implications, the context and who will “get it.” I also consider the “trail” of content — is something I post going to be available months later (pretty much, yes) and will it still be something I want out there with my name on it?