In the spirit of CROSSHIRE
Rental Rate Roy decides to get to grips with the world of social media and quickly discovers its double-edged nature.
HAPPY BEING A SAD-ACT
My teenage son sat at the dinner table recently and announced, “Dad, you are such a sad-act”. The reason for his personal attack on his Old Pop? My lack of use and understanding of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat… well, the list went on. So, in an attempt to prove that I wasn’t some decrepit old loon ready for the knacker’s yard, I asked him to show me the wonders of what he was espousing.
He promptly ran through the features of each service at a breakneck speed that was far too fast for any normal human being to comprehend what it was all about. Much to his amusement he took the mickey mercilessly, waving his arms around and dancing about like a whirling dervish, laughingly suggesting that my lack of understanding was down to the fact that I was neurologically impaired and he was embarrassed to be related to me.
I scuttled off to prove that I’m not as senile as he would have me think (there is only 30 years between us) and joined Facebook. Immediately, I endeavoured to join up with my son. Imagine my heartbreak when he came downstairs and told me that there was no way he would ever befriend me, as his ‘street cred’ with his mates would dissolve and he would become a social outcast. Charming!
I pressed on and found friends from my social circle, old football team mates I hadn’t seen or heard of in years, school chums - all of whom I enjoyed making contact with after a number of decades, and I started to appreciate that I had weathered better than most (I’ve still got most of my own teeth and a full head of hair). I was also intrigued that local businesses were plying their trade, with offers for this and that and wonderful deals. I was really starting to get into it, especially as I was getting friend requests from all over the place.
Then out of the blue came details of a competitor. Eager to find out how they do business on social media, I scrolled my way through their company details and was intrigued at their offerings, as well as their excitement at the extensive business they were doing. It was highly amusing to see they were very proud of the fact that they were transporting machines around illegally overloaded. A few clicks more showed machinery on its side, a trailer-mounted platform set up on the highway with zero traffic management,
and equipment being serviced in their garages precariously propped up on wheels and tyres.
Further browsing enlightened me as to their delivery driver being very pleased with the fact he had been on a weekend- long ‘bender’. He had been so drunk he couldn’t see to walk home the previous evening, but was proud of the fact he was back at work bright and early the following morning, battling the motorway traffic (let’s hope he was below the legal alcohol limit). I’ll also gloss over the homophobic ‘banter’ that was being posted.
All of a sudden it dawned on me that social media can be a double-edged sword. I quickly started checking my staff members to see if they were on Facebook. Those few that were seemed smart enough to either be very circumspect as to what they posted, or had sufficient privacy settings to ensure that details were kept within their circle of close family and friends. However, I have decided to instigate a policy for all our team regarding social media use. It states clearly and concisely that anything pertaining to work must be authorised by me before they post it.
Now, I appreciate that this may seem somewhat petty and overbearing, but the thing about social media is that once something is out in the big wide world, it is almost impossible to remove it. A post can travel around the globe at lightning speed and the consequences are frightening. Bad news seems to travel a considerable amount faster than good news, and mud sticks! Don’t let your own side hamstring you with idiotic posts which are there to amuse, but which can be extremely dangerous and damaging to both themselves and your company. I’ve also been encouraged to use Facebook to view potential employees' profiles to understand their psyche and mentality.
As for me, I’ll start to withdraw from social media a little. I’ll use it just occasionally to maybe wish a friend a happy birthday or whatever. Perhaps on this subject, I’m quite happy being a sad-act.
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