Navigating social media as progressively gotten more difficult as I advance in my career. I have always been extremely cautious about my social media presence going back to the Myspace days. When I attended parties I made sure nobody posted a photo of me because I understood early on, this internet thing will last forever. I often have this is a conversation with my students, your digital footprint is forever lasting, especially in the screenshot era. I’ve seen people careers go up in flames over something they posted online and it got back to their workplace.

The higher I climb the ladder the more I find myself having to censor what I post. Sometimes I want to retweet, regram, repost or share freely as I did ten plus years ago, but unfortunately, I can’t. For example, some hilarious videos cross my timeline, and I would love to share them, but due to language or content, I have to reframe. Maybe the President can tweet whatever he wants, but I can’t, what I believe and say have real-world consequences.

Currently, I’m sitting in class, and my professor posed a question, what are some reason higher education administrators tweet? This question made me dive into my reasoning for tweeting. Ten years ago I had a sports blog, and Twitter was a way to engage with readers and increase my following. Today, I am not sure what my Twitter’s purpose is anymore. I tweet random nothingness to about 200 followers. I am not even a small fish in the higher education administrator twitter pond. Some administrators have 100K followers, crazy. Presidents now have twitter accounts, and some of them personally manage their pages. One colleague wondered, why would a President tweet? The answer is simple. This is where students are. Some administrators struggle connecting with their student population and their social media presence makes them relatable and approachable. When used effectively twitter is a platform to enhance your career, magnify your voice and keep you in the know. As a professional, Twitter could be a place where your career dies.

Professionally, social media can be a scary place. Rosanne Barr is probably the most recent example of someone getting fired because of social media (Twitter). Google employee fired because of social media, and you will find hundreds of stories of people losing their job because of their digital footprint. Just like with every post here are a couple of quick tips not to get fired using social media.

1. Don’t complain about work
I was a huge culprit of this very thing early on in my career. I would complain about work at work. I would complain about a meeting in a meeting. Granted my accounts are private, and I control who follows or friends me on my social media accounts, so complaining about work should be safe for me, but it’s not. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news everyone is not your friend and accepting a follow request doesn’t change that. Some people who are in your social media circle is praying for your downfall. I have heard stories of people post being screenshot and sent to employers. Social media is a not a safe place, so don’t complain about work on the internet.

2. If your “sick” be sick
Everybody calls in sick for a mental health day, and I encourage it. I recommend, If you practiced your cough and sore throat voice in the bathroom before calling out stay off social media for the day. To be more specific, don’t post a picture of you at Dodger stadium drinking beer and eating a hot dog. As a supervisor, I could care less if you went out and did something fun if you called and told me you need a mental health day. The problem arises when you fake sick to get one. Being dishonest is the quickest way to ruin your relationship with your employer, so if you are going to be dishonest be smart about it.

3. Accept Responsibility
I’m not here for censorship. I hope you don’t walk away from this post believing I am saying censor yourself and don’t share your thoughts. That’s not the case. I am saying to accept responsibility for what you post whether the outcome is good or bad. If you choose to be reckless, don’t be surprised when you are reprimanded for it. I decide not to post or state my opinions about certain things because I don’t only represent myself anymore. As a professional, I represent my Institution and the people who work there. I don’t want to cause headaches for others because I have an unpopular opinion. If you choose to hope on any social media platform and speak your mind be willing to accept everything that comes with it.

Social media is not a free space it has real-world cost. As a professional, you have to decide what you want your digital footprint to look like. More and more business are scanning the internet to get a clearer picture of the people they employ. Tread safely out in these social media streets.