The latest company email had Carmen fuming. The sender’s critical remark about a project Carmen managed had Carmen seeing red.

Intending to put the person in his place, Carmen hit reply and began pounding the keyboard.

• “Maybe if you spent even one minute on this project, you’d be able to get your facts straight,” she wrote
• With righteous indignation, Carmen hit Send
• Only at that point, did she realize she hit Reply All – which included the company CEO

Oops.

Social Media Oops

Have you ever sent an email (like Carmen) that you wish you could take back? Who hasn’t, right?

Today, we have even more ways to publish something we regret. And it’s not just email.

• Questionable postings to our wall
• A tweet that flew away in anger
• Or a careless comment captured for all time

Social media gives us the illusion of a private, one-on-one discussion. It is easy to forget that the universe may be watching. Share on X

The following are a few tips for avoiding social media oops.

Use Control

You’re probably thinking, well Duh! But, personal control is not the kind I’m referring to (although that’s certainly a good characteristic to have).

Explore social media control options

Each platform offers some form of control. Although a designer’s intent may not have been to avoid social media oops, some controls may be used that way. The following are a few ideas.

Separate Twitter accounts – While social media is all about sharing, your tweets to friends may not be the ones you want clients or potential customers to see. (Remember, the universe is watching).

One control could be setting up separate Twitter accounts for your personal and professional life. If you want even more control, you can set up Protected Tweets to make your account private.

Limit LinkedIn access to profile – Did you know you have options for how much (or little) of your LinkedIn profile the public can see?

Check out the list below of areas you can make private to only your connections.

 

Practically every platform has privacy controls. Make sure you understand your options.

• Think of the worst social media oops you’ve seen
• Hopefully, it wasn’t yours
• Next, put the controls in place to protect you against yourself

Think Permanent

Do you remember the last time you tried the Recall feature on an email? How’d that work out for you?

Although using social media controls helps, do not rely on technology alone to save your “oops” moments.

• Go back to that worst social media oops incident
• Now, think permanent
• Remember online oops live forever

So, what can you do? Find a method that makes you think twice before hitting Send. And use it. EVERY TIME.

For example, you know those voices in your head? The ones that constantly chatter? Try programming one to mutter, “Are you sure about that?” Make it your mantra. If it helps, add your mother’s voice to the mix.

Add your mantra before you hit Send.

• Write email/post/comment
• Review for typos/accuracy/tone
• Are you sure about that?
• Now, hit Send

That question can save you in several areas from accuracy to social media oops.

Step Away from the Keyboard

You may feel you need more than that voice in your head. Something a bit more intimidating (although most mothers can be pretty intimidating).

Imagine you are about to break into a store. Suddenly, you hear a deep voice commanding you to step away from the door. Uh-oh. Busted.

Picture the Social Media police pointing a gun at you while they snarl, “Step away from the keyboard.”

• Even a few minutes helps
• Come back to your entry and proofread
• If your entry was dashed off in anger, reconsider

You want to share what’s best about you and your business. Don’t let social media oops reveal a side you’d sooner forget. Remember – the universe is watching – forever.

1. Use control
2. Think permanent
3. Step away from the keyboard

What tips do you have for avoiding social media oops? Share your ideas in Comments.

==========

This is an update of a post that originally published on February 19, 2010. The demise of the cartoon platform, Bitstrips, prompted me to revisit older posts where I created the above Baby Boomer character. Any resemblance to this blog owner are purely coincidental. 😉 Stay tuned for more Bitstrips post updates.