The Guardian Public Leaders Network ran a really interesting piece this morning by Tim Lloyd (@timolloyd), on how he tweets about his professional life as head of digital communications at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills alongside his hobbies.
It’s a dilemma which all of us who tweet regularly will have wrestled with at some point. Are you tweeting too much about your life outside work? Do your colleagues think you spend too much time on Twitter? What would your boss or potential employer think of your tweets?
I’ve blogged before about how Twitter and LinkedIn are vital for what I do, enabling me to catch news as it breaks, build relationships with key stakeholders (including journalists) and market what my organisation does. I’ve also brought in valuable corporate partnerships via Twitter and other social media. Yet still, when I log on, I ask myself many of the same questions that Lloyd does.
There is no straightforward answer to this, although I suspect it simply comes down to common sense. Nevertheless, in the week when Lord McAlpine confirmed that he will be taking action against high profile tweeters such as Sally Bercow, what you do- and don’t- say on Twitter has never seemed more important. (Worryingly, this BBC article about the McAlpine case indicates that even a retweet can be libelous).
So how can you balance the personal and professional on Twitter? I think you need to ask yourself three questions:
• What’s the purpose of my Twitter account? If you’re solely focused on tweeting about your personal interests, e.g. you’re a keen cakemaker in your spare time and want to tweet about your baking and connect with other bakers, then I don’t see why that’s a problem, unless you are tweeting about this a lot when you’re supposed to be working.
• Always ask yourself: would I feel comfortable if my employer or potential employer saw this? If they googled your name and found your Twitter feed, would you be happy with what they read?
• What does my organisation’s social media policy say about employees’ use of social media?
I also think you have to trust your instincts. If you feel that you may be tweeting too much about your personal life, then it’s possible that you are. But remember that it can work the other way too. Using Twitter solely to broadcast what you or your organisation does is a turn off. And the same principles apply in real life. Think about colleagues who you’ve enjoyed working with. I bet many of them were professional, knowledgeable and driven, but they could also have a conversation about their weekend.
Social media is a warm and personal medium and no-one should be afraid to use it in that way alongside the professional stuff. Incidentally, Ryan Holmes, the CEO of Hootsuite, has written about the value of getting your employees engaged with social media. Isn’t it time that all organisations thought this way?