Many use social media for different purposes: to share information, to find out the latest news, to upload pictures of their cats. A while back I decided to use my Twitter account for both business and personal use. I knew what to post and how to word it so that I can still be viewed as professional while sharing stories and ideas that are more personal.
For a while it has gone fine. For the past year however, since the death of Mike Brown, I’ve been sharing more stories and more personal points of views on my Twitter account. Last night I realized that using a particular hashtag can catch the eye of unwanted attention from people with opposing views. After going back and forth briefly with these people, I come to the conclusion that one should be prepared for the power of social media. My unwanted attention led to people liking my opponent’s tweets and retweeting our conversation, calling me names that do not fit the type of person I am.
The more I responded, the more traction it received. If you put more fuel into a fire, it will take a while to go down. I see that now as it is the following morning and I’ve still received more feedback. Many of you have heard the old saying for bullies, ignore them. While this approach can be debatable, I think it’s the best option on social media. If you ignore people’s responses to your statements, then eventually they will go away only to nick pick with other people they disagree with on their views.
Celebrities can best benefit from this advice as I’m sure they receive the most criticism because they are in the public eye. Unfortunately for them the criticism can come non-stop to the boiling point where they feel as if they NEED to respond…but they don’t. These people will not stop them from making their millions, just like these internet “trolls” cannot judge me by the little bit of personal information I DO decide to share to the world. While I cannot be silenced, this event has led me to realize that my focus SHOULD be more towards professional content more so for me as a professional transitioning her career.
Final Tip: Just be aware you can have your own opinions, not your own facts. This is why I support the people I do on social media and share their stories and struggle as they are called liars and their families are threatened every single day.
Marketing Cassandra 