Frolleagues? Honestly. I know the English language is a body in a continual state of flux, but frolleague? It seems that a new term has been coined to describe the increasing concern with the crossover between business and personal life on the internet. The sentiment, I agree with to a point. The terminology I think is silly…
Nevertheless, the internet is an open window on your life. If you choose to leave the curtains wide open, exposing everyone to everything you do, then you have to expect there to be reputation repercussions. I don’t think that it is either realistic or desirable for there to be a total separation between your business life and your personal life, but I do think that we need to consider how we allow that crossover very carefully.
The Guardian article I referenced above uses a couple of examples of how people’s reputations have been damaged through their social media activities. These are common enough stories. In the past, the embarrassing naked table dance you did at the office Christmas party may have lived on in your colleagues’ memories and even in some photos, but it wasn’t going to be something that a potential recruiter or investor would find. The internet has changed that, and you should forget that at your peril.
However, the instruction to keep your business life separate from your personal life is a flawed principle. What happens if you are great friends with someone you also do business with? Does that mean they have to choose? Or follow two profiles? (What next? Never using work email for personal activity? I have a feeling the day that happens is a very long way off!) What happens if the site you use doesn’t allow you to have two separate profiles? What happens if a business event also can be classed as a social event? If you are asking your network a business related question, what if people within your social circle could actually provide the answer even better? How do you succeed in running the two separate online personas, when people you are networking with are from all over the world, in different timezones and locations, so keeping the 9 – 5 is almost impossible? Business and personal crossover is a fact of 21st Century life. Saying you should avoid it is a very big ask.
I feel that some of the richness of our online relationships would be lost if the personal was separated entirely from the business. I feel touched and honoured to read a post like this, which is so personal, and yet Jonathan Fields’ to me is a “business contact” (in the sense that I read his blog for business advice). But understanding this side of his personal life gives me a much fuller view of Jonathan as a person. If all I knew about Jonathan was that he was a marketer and copywriter, my ‘relationship’ with him would be very shallow indeed. Similarly, anyone who knows me knows I like to drive sports cars, ride horses, run marathons and read books. That is personal information which is available to anyone on the web, partly because it is me and I am proud of it, and partly because it gives my potential colleagues, business partners and clients a rounded picture of who I am and what makes me tick.
Yes, be careful when it comes to the embarrassment factor. Yes, be cautious about public information that doesn’t give people an impression of you that you might necessarily want. But don’t save business for business and personal for personal only as a rule of thumb. People buy from people they like and trust. Give them something to like. Leave the curtains partially open and make sure the room inside is tidy.
Thank you glennharper for the image
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