Are You Too Visible?
The other day I asked whether you were invisible as a freelance writer. While invisibility is undesirable, being too visible is also a problem. What do I mean by that? Deb Ng explained it best when she said that online is forever.  It’s great to participate on blogs, forums and social networking sites, but your comments on those sites get indexed, just as your web pages and blog posts do. So it’s wise to think about the image that you’re presenting and the information that you share.
How Much Should You Reveal?
One of my friends on Plurk said the other day that she was restricting the information that she shared online. In the future, she won’t be sharing personal information about family members. After all, they are not members of the site and may not want that information on public display. I see where she’s coming from. Although I am happy to share some personal information (I’m A British freelancer with a lovely husband and a five year old daughter), it’s just not sensible to put identifying information out there when you know you can’t ever take it back.
Censoring Yourself
Similarly, although anyone who reads my comments on any site can tell that I am the person who’s speaking, I don’t express myself in the same way online – or at least, I think more about what I write. If I offend someone, I don’t get to take it back. In fact, it will probably be out there forever, waiting to be found by a prospective client who will make assumptions about me based on that remark.
My Approach To Visibility
Some people solve the issue by keeping different usernames and profiles for their business and social interactions online. For me, that’s too much like hard work. I prefer to be myself, even if that means taking a bit of care about what I say. The people who meet me online will find that I am consistent whether we talk by email, IM, on blogs, forums or on social sites. I don’t mind being visible, but I want to be sure that people don’t get the wrong impression, based on a chance remark. How do you handle your online interactions?
(Photo: markermark)
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Get Paid To Write Online by Sharon Hurley Hall is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License. Copyright for posts written by guest authors remains with them.Useful info
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Great article… I don’t mind to be online, because it’s the same impression like in real world. Banks, government, social institutions know all data, so that’s don’t bother us, why then to keep privacy online. Of course here will remain every word that you say, what you do, what do you like, like been recorded in real life. But in this way, we pay attention more to our words and our actions online, and improve our personality.
Raavi@Social Media’s last blog post..Google Knol | Concurent serios pentru Wikipedia sau amenintare pentru bloggeri
Fantastic article, and something that I know not many people really think of.
Heather Quarnstrom’s last blog post..My Published Works:
Great post. I agree that there needs to be care taken, but it can be too difficult to manage a person and professional presence online.
Hi Sharon,
I really appreciate this post ( and yesterday’s post!). When I first started freelancing, I didn’t have much confidence in my ability, so I would hide behind a clever user name on different writer forums. But then I realized that to promote my business successfully, I needed to become “visible.” I’m painfully private, so putting my “real self” out on the Net has been a hard hurdle to conquer, but I’m learning to do it.
Ded Ng is right about being careful what you say online – the online writing community is much smaller than some might think.
Kimberly’s last blog post..Surviving a Freelance Slump
Like you, Sharon, I just be myself online. With a censor on how much information I give about my loved ones. My children’s names for example, and their pictures, I refrain from sharing with the net at large. I slipped up the other day but it was too late to retract and I can only hope that the incursion isn’t too widely spread.
The truth is, I’m very trusting online. I’m honest here and I believe that others will do unto me as I do unto them. It might be a naive view of the world but so far, when I go into every interaction with that faith it has proven true. The online world is, for the most part, a lovely place to interact.
If you maintain a corteous, professional but relaxed air it is easy to just be yourself. I don’t need to announce my bathroom breaks but with opportunities to lifestream my ‘friends’ get that little bit closer. I think allowing that closeness creates some beautiful friendships in this online world. We get to truly FEEL and care about the real person behind the text.
I used to be very open with information, but over the last several months I’ve begun to withdraw a bit. This wasn’t for privacy reasons per se, but that’s a side benefit. I began to see where most of my time was being spent, and it wasn’t all that productive. It’s nice to have online “coworkers” but it shouldn’t overshadow the work.
As for sharing, I think most people (blog readers, twitter followers etc) fall into one of three categories: people who don’t care, people who are involved enough in your life anyway that they know about the important stuff and people who you shouldn’t be getting personal with to begin with (potential clients). It’s hard to find a happy medium between ultra-strict professionalism and TMI, but it’s definitely necessary.
Courtney’s last blog post..Google Books – Wow!
I often consider the issues of oversharing and professionalism when writing in my blog and commenting on others’. With your info and opinions only a Google search away, it pays to be careful how you present yourself and the amount of detail you provide. You never know who’s reading!
Amie’s last blog post..A nice surprise
I’d definitely have a couple of online identities (actually, I do
) if I were freelancing or even working for a tech-savvy employer. Keep one strictly professional (leaving no incriminating evidence, heh) for networking and gaining clients, and then have your lifestyle identity where you can admit to smoking pot in highschool and that you play World of Warcraft at work when the boss isn’t in the office. 
Lindsay’s last blog post..Want to Make Money Online? Choose Thy Target Audience Wisely
Like Rebecca, I’m honest and trusting. Must be part of the reason we hit it off from the start. Eh, Rebecca?
I’ve tried to be very careful with what I share online and actually hesitated when Rebecca invited me to Plurk. I have shared my past trials of surviving domestic violence and overcoming obesity and a lot of health issues, but I don’t share personal (current) information like a lot of folks online do. I also share my dreams and goals for the future. It’s the here and now that I prefer to remain private about. There’s no reason to share every aspects of our lives. Some of it, after all, is for us to enjoy and keep to ourselves.
Great post, Sharon!
*smiles*
Michele
Michele’s last blog post..Juice Fasting Cleanse: Do You Eat Processed Meat?
@ Raavi: I take your point, but doesn’t that make it more important to decide what you share?
@ Heather: thanks
@ Melissa: My challenge is being present on a wide range of social networks.
@ Kimberly: Believe it or not, I have had to overcome the same thing. I am not naturally a social butterfly.
@ Rebecca: I have some great online friendships. Like you, I keep my daughter’s name and photos to myself and don’t name any of my friends unless I have their permission
@Courtney: Yes, sometimes you have to unplug for a while and focus on work.
@ Amie: Exactly! You’ve got to think about how you’re presenting yourself. That said, I like to be myself too.
@Lindsay: I just couldn’t manage having a double identity, but I can see how it could make sense for some people.
@ Michele: Thanks. And I agree. Just as you don’t share everything offline, there’s no reason why you should online. It’s not so much that you mind sharing with your online friends, but you may not want to share personal stuff with the whole world.
I think I was the person who said I wouldn’t share, but see, I went and told everyone that it’s my son’s Bday today on Plurk…. Sigh…It’s just so darn hard to separate my life out!
Allena’s last blog post..What Tech Do We NEED To Know As Writers?
I didn’t think that was so bad, Allena. Now if you had posted your house number, street and a party invitation that would have been different
Hi Sharon,
This is an excellent article. I think that we often give too little thought to our online persona. I don’t mean by that that we should ever be “fake” in dealing with others, just that what we say online does carry as much weight as what we say with the mouth. I think that many people who “socialize” online forget that. I have seen some people make comments online that they would probably never make in a face to face setting. Those sorts of things actually do stay out there, as you point out, and could come back to haunt us.
It can be a difficult line to walk. But then, it is never an uncomplicated matter when two people have to interact. That is just multiplied (infinitely!) in a setting where our interactions are actually visible to anyone who wants to bother to look.