Last Friday night over cards with friends I was asked, “What’s the point of Twitter?” Before I could respond, a guy waded into the conversation by saying, “There is no point. Who cares what I had for breakfast?”

I realize so many people feel the same way, and they totally are missing the point and the value of social media.

Talk with anyone who owns their own business, or is a solo practitioner, or is looking for a job. They will tell you the two most important tools they have are their network and their reputation. Both of these are built today with social media. Without question, Twitter contributes to building your personal brand.

How you use social media, what you say, and the pictures you post will all become part of your permanent record. Not participating will also speak volumes about your brand.

“I have a good job, so I have no need to build a personal brand, right?”

There is no such thing as job security in the digital age; therefore, everyone, regardless of current position, should be building their personal brands because your business worth is becoming more and more predicated on your “Google juice” (getting a high representation in a search for you.)

When was the last time you Googled yourself? That’s right, put your name in the search box and see what comes up. How many times did you appear on the front page of the listings? Did you even appear on the front page of the listings? How many pages deep did you have to search before anything about you appeared?

If I can’t find you in a Google search looking for you, you are brand-less to the world. Who you are and what your skills, talents and capabilities are matter in today’s business environment. Companies are shifting to a more talent-focused approach to hiring and promotion than the old school experience-based hiring approach. Why the shift? Because everything is changing so dramatically that experience is becoming of lesser value compared to skills and talents that apply to current job demands. So what if you have 15 years of experience working with outdated technology? It just doesn’t matter anymore.

So how do you make yourself relevant? By building your personal brand.

Building a personal brand is tough. There are over 845 people in the United States named Russell White (and I think every one of them must have a Facebook account.)  One Russell White was a Heisman Trophy candidate out of California. Another is a gospel singer. Yet another is wanted for armed robbery. So how do I jump above this crowded space to grab some Google Juice and make my brand heard?

Start with creating distinction. I use my middle initial (Russell J White) in most everything I do. That gives me traction on Google with Russell White AND I dominate the first two pages of search results when people search “Russell J White.”  Personal branding takes time, consistent effort and participation in a number of social media outlets. In this article I don’t have time to go into all of the most obvious social media opportunities to build your brand such as with LinkedIn, Facebook, Flickr, YouTube and the importance of blogging. I’ll save those for future articles, but I do want to answer my card-playing friend’s question about Twitter.

Twitter

How do I use Twitter to build my personal brand, reputation and network? I simply treat it like a conference hospitality suite. Talk a little business, talk a little fun, and share information. Unlike a hospitality suite conversation, people can find everything you tweet, so keep it clean and friendly — use it to develop your reputation, not harm it.

Think before you tweet.

Many employers check the public record of Twitter streams of employees as the proverbial fly on the wall. It gives a great insight to the thoughts of the individual, how they approach life, and what is important to them. It will also reveal how they view work and relationships and how they communicate. Many celebrities and professional athletes forget the permanence of a tweet and how fast they can be shared. It’s hard to believe how 140 characters can ruin a reputation and cost someone an endorsement deal.

So what do I tweet?

Information you think your followers will find interesting. Monday at 9:04 am, I tweeted that Jim Tressel had resigned and included a link to the Columbus Dispatch article. On Memorial Day, thank those who serve us in the military. I have commented on the storms we are having, that I will be attending the next tweetup, and that I will be going to an upcoming concert if anyone wants to join me.

I will let people know where to find this blog article with title and link. The last blog article I posted someone retweeted it (copied the link and sent it to all of their network, thus building my exposure!) Like I said, a little business, a little fun and sharing information.

Respect the power of Twitter and use the medium to your advantage.

My Twitter account name, @BizWizTV, has over 6,000 followers and is growing. I use that account to specifically refer to my BizWizTV.com television channel where I post weekly three-minute videos. Google still sees my name tied to that account as it is registered in my name, so I still get good juice. Your Twitter name should speak directly to either who you are or what you are talented doing or, in my case, a specific destination that is about me.
Solely because of Twitter I have made many local connections with business owners, and I am offered a number of free networking events, lunches and meetings known as tweetups that have helped my business, my knowledge and my network.

As Twitter is maturing, it is far less about “what I had for breakfast” and more about breaking news stories, making meaningful business connections, and gathering meaningful information that speaks directly to my interests. Twitter is a great tool to build your business reputation, build your network, and build your brand. That is why I think it is the most underused tool in the traditional business person’s toolbox.

Have you ever been to a Meetup? Tweetup? Flashmob? Social Media event? What about using Foursquare to connect with people in the same location you just checked into?

Do you even know what these are?

These gatherings have no attendance requirements and have no annual fees. You pay as you go for the events you want to attend and sometimes they are simply free.

Rotary groups have an attendance requirement and a rigid schedule of meetings at least twice a month. Chambers of Commerce are constantly struggling to come up with services to justify membership. Both require annual membership fees. Why? Mostly to support overhead that may no longer be necessary. This is what is wrong with these groups: the model no longer fits the business world. Today’s business world is fluid, leaders are schedule challenged, and people only want to pay for exactly what they want and attend only those meetings that interest them.

Tell me I’m wrong – have you never gone to a Rotary meeting only because you felt you had to even though the presenter was of no interest to you?

Tell me I’m wrong – when it came time for your annual chamber dues check to be written, have you hesitated, wondering how to justify spending the money since you no longer feel you are getting your money’s worth?

Remember buying an entire album or CD for the one or two songs on it you really liked? Today people pay by the song, when they want it, 24/7. No more paying for what you don’t want to hear and no more waiting on store hours to buy it. Business gatherings are now the same way.

I have attended open invitation gatherings of local business people connected by Twitter (tweetups). I have made great connections over these lunch gatherings.

What exactly is a tweetup?

An organizer announces on Twitter a gathering at this restaurant at this time on this day. Those available and interested come and exchange business ideas over lunch. All of us know the best exchange of information at any chamber event or Rotary meeting occurs in the side conversations, so why not just have those? That is what a tweetup is to our group. Sometimes we have 12, sometimes we have over 30. The point is it is fluid, come if you can, and you only pay for your lunch. Simple and organic. No annual fees or restricted membership.

I also attend social media events. For these I pay a small fee. Once again no membership dues, I only pay for a ticket to attend those meetings that interest me. I obviously don’t get to as many meetings as I would like because of my schedule. Business travel just doesn’t allow for it. Were I paying an annual fee or had an attendance requirement, I’d probably drop out of the group, and that is what is causing Chambers and Rotary groups to lose members.

As one CEO told me when he got a letter from Rotary informing him his attendance was lacking, “They say they want movers and shakers, but today moving and shaking is very different from the 1950s.” Needless to say, he dropped his membership.

In addition, the younger generation of upcoming leaders are more expense focused, more immediate results oriented and more mobile. They do not identify as closely to their geographic location, traveling freely for business and pleasure and often working for companies hundreds of miles away.

I argue that membership fees are a trap for bad programming. If your meetings or offerings were that awesome, people would flock to your meetings and pay to get in Like TED conferences.) The fact is the majority of the people attending current functions are doing it out of obligation, not desire, because they have been trapped by membership fees. As more and more people are realizing that, memberships decline.

If Rotary groups and Chambers of Commerce want to increase involvement and attendance of younger, more active leaders, they need to create better programs and drop membership requirements, attendance requirements and overhead. Flash gatherings and meetings of substance are thriving with business leaders who make a difference. The traditional model just needs to be updated to attract them.

In the age of over-sharing led by the communication generation, people are using Facebook, Twitter, and other social media site as an opportunity to broadcast every detail of information, have publically viewed arguments, and create a permanent record of TMI (too much information).

Employers are watching, clients are watching, co-workers are watching, and those with ill intent are also watching for opportunities. Self-censorship is becoming less frequent, especially for the young people who have grown up with social media as a given for expression. Cautionary tales abound, and here are four pieces of information you should resist sharing.

1. Personal Proclivities

I have friends of all ages on my Facebook and Twitter accounts and I’ve read many self revealing comments that are better left for a counseling session than a public broadcast. People have shared their affairs, use of illegal drugs, driving drunk, and overindulgences. In some cases, they add photographic proof of their exploits.

People have lost jobs, marriages, and respect by drunk tweeting. People regret what they’ve posted on Facebook once they realized they have over-shared, and there is no real way to clear the record once it’s been digested by those who have read it.

One study showed that last year 8 percent of employers fired an employee for misuse of social media. Open sharing means anyone can read it. Just because you don’t friend your boss or parent doesn’t mean you can’t cause serious damage to your important relationships and yourself.

2. Personal Information

How much personal information do you express on your posts? Do you have your birthday date, year and city you were born? According to a study done by Carnegie Mellon University, a person equipped with that information could predict most if not all of the numbers in your social security number?

Identity theft is a significant concern with the wealth of Internet Information floating about, not to mention the sharing of where you went to school, what year you graduated, what your weekend habits are like, where your “go-to” spots are, and when you are most likely to be there. A good experiment would be to take one of your Facebook friends and see what all you could learn from their online information if you were a complete stranger. Now imagine if someone were looking at your information the same way. How well would they know you?

3. Personal Plans

One of the most frequent posts I see particularly on Facebook deals with personal plans, specifically when a person is going to be away from home. Either on vacation or on a night out, people are constantly sharing when they are not home and where they can be found.

Do we really want to announce to the criminals and vandals when we are not going to be home? When Facebook and Foursquare first got started I used to announce the city I was speaking in and when I was at airports (hey, look how cool I am!) until I realized how idiotic I was in letting everyone know I wasn’t going to be home for days. I have a greater responsibility to the security of my family than I do to be thought of as cool.

4. Personal Rants

I’ve read the follow posts on Facebook:

I hate Mondays because I hate my job.

If my boss was on fire, I’d grab a bag of marshmallows.

I am so hung over I wish my boss would go to the meeting so I can get a nap.

If you want to know what hell is, ask me, I work there every day.

Ranting about your job, customers, co-workers, your spouse, your kids or your friends in social media will surely come back to haunt you. People lose jobs and won’t get hired for such posts as these. Employers are looking at social media accounts to get insight to the people they are considering hiring. It’s a public record. It’s due diligence research. It is the new way of conducting pre-employment research and executives find it effective.

Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, Linked In, and YouTube are here to stay and will continue to grow in subscribers and those who over-share. Know how to properly use these social media sites so they don’t harm you in the long run.

The Social Media Pool Rules

Before you dive into the social media pool you need to know the pool rules.

By Russell J. White

1. If you don’t want your boyfriend, girlfriend, BFF, wife, husband, mother, father, grandmother, priest, doctor, local newspaper, national press, TMZ, Huffington Post, current employer, previous employer, future employer or any current or ex-friend to read it; don’t post it.

2. Anything you post is part of the public record and will be treated as such.

3. The best privacy protection for social media occurs between your brain and your keyboard.

4. Not everyone in social media can be trusted. Ask yourself: What if criminals read this information? Because they have and will continue to do so.

5. We don’t care what you ordered at Starbucks.

6. Just because you thought it doesn’t mean you should post it.

7. It’s great to wish someone a happy birthday, offer congratulations, condolences, support, love, respect and recognition. Otherwise, negative personal feelings might be better left to a private message.

8. Private messages can easily become public.

9. Don’t SPAM.

10.  If you did something great, let us know! If every day in your opinion you do something great, we will get tired of hearing it quickly.

11.  Adding attractive “friends” doesn’t suddenly make you a stud.

12.  There is a difference between networking, voyeurism and stalking. Know what it is and act accordingly.

13.  Keep in mind those party pictures you post could follow you for decades, even after you have removed them from your page.

14.  Deleting someone from Facebook doesn’t actually make them go away.

15.  Even “nom de posts” can lead back to the real person – with consequences.

16.  Never meet a Craig’s List purchaser in your home or their home.

17.  Links are great to share unless they always lead back to something you are selling or have written.

18.  Being opinionated is fine. Expecting no one to be offended is unrealistic.

19.  When talking about your job, customers, boss, fellow employees or the company who employs you, you are speaking as an employee.

20. Geo-location software is a criminal’s new blue light special. Don’t announce every time you leave your home.

21.  If you monitor your friend, fan or follower counts and brag on them, your ego is misplaced.

22. If you spend hours on your “farm” or in your “Mafia,” you might want to evaluate where you could otherwise use that time to improve your life.

23.  If you automate tweets, posts or responses, there is nothing social about your social media involvement, so stop it.

24. Nurture the social relationships that are most important to you.

25. Zuckerberg’s law: The less you want your social information to fall into the wrong hands, the more likely it will.