Building your personal online reputation is a non-stop process. Each time you do something online –post a comment, write a blog post, submit a social bookmark or update your status in social networks, you either strengthen or weaken your reputation.
As mentioned in earlier article “Online Reputation and Personal Brand“, you need to be very careful about your behavior in social media outlets. Hasty responses are not recommended. People often freely express their feelings in social media 
without giving a second thought to a possible aftermath of hyper-emotional ramblings.
There is no such thing as a private social network. Even if your account on a social outlet is private, it doesn’t mean that your message won’t be spread by your social friends.
When you are participating in social conversations of any kind, think about your responses as if you’re in front of a camera. If you want to say things that you wouldn’t say during TV interview, don’t do it.
Today you might think that swearing and bulling people in a social space is acceptable but I promise you’ll be sorry tomorrow.
Tomorrow your message can be seen by your boss, and you’ll get fired.
Tomorrow you might want to apply for a new job, and your social profile will be checked by HR or an employment agency. There won’t be any chance for you to get that job no matter how good are your professional skills.
Tomorrow you might find a prospect customer who is interested in your business proposal. Bad news is, after checking your social profile he won’t return your call.
Bottom line: when you do something in social space, you are “in front of TV camera” all the time. So think about your reputation, and act accordingly.
As John Davies noted in his YouTube video “The Social Contract and Building Your Brand Organically“, opinions in social world are made instantly and can be destroyed in a brief moments. In the past decade a drastical shift has occurred in how we consume the information. For branding purposes the unique substance of the social message is no longer as important as the quickly formed image derived through the distribution of such message.
There are certain exceptions to this rule. There seems to be a double-standard on the social behavior accepted for businesses /business-related personal brands and the behavior allowed for celebrity actors/musicians and other well-known representatives of “free-spirited” professions.
Sadly, alcohol and drug abuse is almost a norm today for many celebrities. Their abrupt behavior is perceived as part of extravagant image, and is easily forgiven by a crowd. Unless you’re a celebrity, don’t think you could behave the same way. The outcome of your thoughtless actions could be much more severe than you expect.
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