Jul 3 2009

Part 2: Everything I Learned About Social Networking I Learned from my Mom and Dad

There’s nothing like a family emergency to make you think and put your priorities in order. To put myself right again this means a time of reflection and, of course, a little blog writing. Spending time with my family this week reminded me how much of what my parents taught me translates directly to my approach and use of social networks.
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PART 2: “Make good choices.”

Before my sisters and I would go out on a Friday or Saturday evening, we never left the house without hearing those ominous words from our father. He was warning us that we were accountable to our decisions. His was the voice of reason (like the angel on the shoulder) reminding us to stay on a straight and narrow path—that isn’t to say we always listened.  But, we turned out just fine (at least my sisters did).

These words did their job. They stick with me every day of my life. 

When you use social media (especially social networking) it becomes an integrated part of your life. Slowly but surely a part of everything you do becomes “public.” For me, that means a certain level of accountability. I’m not portraying a version of myself online and then morphing into a different person when offline. While not everything in my life is public, I’m sharing a real, accurate and true representation of my life.

I used to measure my integrity by the choices I made when no one was looking (and I still think that’s an important measure of one’s integrity). Now, I think about whether or not I’d be comfortable with my entire online community knowing about my choice (not to say that they would know). 

I’m sure Dad thought I wasn’t listening, but I was. Are you?

11 Comments on this post

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  1. Noreen said:

    Sarah-How great! It makes so much sense – of course, Mom and Dad always do in retrospect, don’t they?! LOL

    July 3rd, 2009 at 3:02 pm
  2. PRsarahevans said:

    Right on, Noreen.

    July 3rd, 2009 at 3:30 pm
  3. leslie said:

    great point sarah! I wasnt listening until about 5 yrs ago….I think everything comes into perspective as you get older and you realize your parents actually knew what they were talking about….I reflect on that daily with respects to my mom :)

    July 3rd, 2009 at 3:41 pm
  4. Heather Whaling said:

    Isn’t it funny how the simple things we learned when we were little are still applicable today? Similar to what your dad told you, my dad had a saying: “The right action equals the right result.” That continues to shape the choices even to this day.

    BTW, love this series you’re working on! :)

    Heather (@prtini)

    July 4th, 2009 at 1:49 pm
  5. Seo83 said:

    Sarah I completely agree with you. Me too get all the info regarding this from my dad and bro. Both they are in Internet Marketing field. They always update me with the latest techniques of social networking.

    July 5th, 2009 at 5:03 pm
  6. used tires said:

    Definitely words to the wise. I can remember my parents saying a version of it. Theirs was much longer, more long-winded. Still is actually, lol. Its definitely good to stay true to yourself, and make sure you make the right moves, on and offline
    till then,
    Jean

    July 5th, 2009 at 7:50 pm
  7. Jamie Favreau said:

    This is very important when searching for a job. The consistency must be there and you have to be YOURSELF but not putting up drunk pictures. You need to know what you say, stays on Google as @scottmonty reminds us.

    July 10th, 2009 at 7:08 am
  8. printing said:

    hi
    I read your article.it is relay very nice but tell me how can us increase our social networking?

    July 13th, 2009 at 4:34 am
  9. Buy PSP Go said:

    You’re right, how you act online reflects onto your business and there are more and more stories of people being reckless with information and it catching up with them when they go for jobs.

    August 11th, 2009 at 1:25 pm
  10. kelowna mortgages said:

    Its definitely good to stay true to yourself, and make sure you make the right moves, on and offline

    February 6th, 2010 at 5:13 pm
  11. Turkey said:

    Your family a very good lesson to learn .. Meanwhile, very cute:)

    March 16th, 2010 at 3:04 pm