Aron Schoenfeld

“Money you can lose many times, but you can only lose your reputation once.” – Mukesh Ambani

Your reputation and how others perceive you will play an important role in all of your business dealings. Whether it is for partnership opportunities, investments or just networking, your reputation will precede you and others will often have an expectation. Whether it is from social media, online background checks or asking around your circles, information is very easy to come by and will play a big part in determining whether or not you succeed.

Let’s be honest, before meeting someone for the first time, whether for a date or business meeting, most people Google and Facebook search the person they are going to meet. You want to know what they look like, see some of the more recent things that they have done, see their interests, all for the sake of “knowing” who you are about to meet. While there is nothing wrong with this, it makes it even more imperative for people to make sure their reputation is kept in check.

First impressions often make or break a relationship. When someone googles you, what do they see? Is it the picture of you with your family on vacation or the party of you drinking and smoking up at some party (yes, I have actually seen pictures like this). Will they see posts from you or articles using foul language Read more…

I got a LinkedIn request to connect the other day from someone I have never heard of. It said I was his classmate when I went for my MBA, but I am pretty sure I never met this person before. Further confirming my suspicion was that I got a few Twitter mentions from the same person asking for my email address and for me to add them on LinkedIn so we can connect. I responded that I only connect with people I have some professional relationship with already and that they can send me an email introduction. This got me thinking about how people use social media to network and how people connect with others on social media sites. What is the value of a connection or friend? How can we measure followers and members of a circle?

After thinking about this for some time, I realized that every social media site serves its own unique purpose and they are used in different ways. While some people view it as a popularity contest and accept requests from anyone, using the sites properly will lead to increased value for you and those connected to you. Below is a listing of the sites as I see them and some guidelines to using them effectively.

1. Facebook. This site is a true social networking site for friends to share content and pictures and keep up with each others’ lives. Friend requests should only be sent to actual friends or people you have met a few times. Facebook friends do not mean you are really friends but rather want to share content. If you don’t Read more…