Many feel that lingering fear that
someday their boss is going to somehow get access to their privacy-protected
Facebook wall, and all the associated content that may or may not be critical
of company leadership. Currently, privacy mechanisms are in place that can
prevent this from happening. Social networks like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram,
and Google+ all have privacy settings that limit what non-connections can see;
and forums such as Reddit, 4chan and others have the benefit of complete
anonymity. But what if all of your personal online activity was bundled
together with your professional identities managed through email, Linkedin, and
other professional online activity spots? Some fear this may soon be happening.
The silent battle being fought in
enterprise software is pitting Google against Microsoft. Google Apps for
Business, once a freemium tool, is the fastest growing email, documents, and
cloud storage enterprise software suites in the world. Two out of every three
new enterprise software companies are choosing Google Apps for Business instead
of Microsoft Outlook and Office[1]. In
fact, according to both Forrester Research and Gartner, Google is expected to
control 50% of the enterprise email market in 5 years![2] So
with the compatibility and ubiquity of Google products continuing to
proliferate, the question becomes – what does this mean for Google products
users?
Below is a quick snapshot of what
the Google Apps for Business market looks like:
Two Identities Collide
One concern with the growth of Google Apps for Business is
that Google will be able to track both your personal and professional
identities, and merge them into a single online persona. This has already been
done to a small extent with Google+, where if you have both a personal and
professional account Google will push recommended people to circle from both
your personal and professional contacts. Further evidence of this change
happens when you sign up as a new user with the Google Signup tool, which will
give you the option to choose your personal or professional account to sign up
for a service. But Google is not the only company to be doing this. Facebook is
working diligently to make your FB profile the only one you need online; and
Linkedin started this shift with their groups, where individuals mix
professional and personal interests.
Managing the Change
So there’s this sea change coming that is being driven by
large forces. One solution is to stop providing companies with data inputs –
something that is nearly impossible at this point. Another potential solution
is a dedicated web service to help manage your various online personas – but
this hasn’t quite achieved this. So it is up to you to figure out how you are
going to manage, and benefit from, this major change. With that context in mind,
the following is what you can do to better manage this movement toward
combining your online identities:
- Determine and build your brand – Very few internet users think about their online brand. Most use their social and professional outlets in an unstructured, directionless fashion. However, there are many people who use their various profiles to express themselves personally, and develop their credibility and brand. One great thinker in this area is Dan Schawbel[3], who has used very effective methods online to brand himself as one of the foremost experts in online personal branding
- Create your online “10 Commandments” – If our personal and professional online identities are indeed moving closer together, it is important that we have rules of engagement. Users should begin to establish their own guidelines by which they will manage their online brand and craft an identity that serves a productive purpose. These could include avoiding political commentary, eliminating cursing, and abstaining from negative comments; but these rules also include positive actions like expressing gratitude, giving praise to people, and sharing interesting information.
- Use personal analytics – In my previous post about knowing and managing your social graph, I provided several tools you can use to see how people find and search you online[4]. As you dive into the data, you’ll notice that people that look you up on Linkedin for professional purposes will also visit your Twitter feed, and try to access your Facebook wall. Furthermore, with tools like Klout you’ll be able to find out if your activity is truly building the brand you intend.
Merging professional and personal online identities? That is way scary.
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