Open Forum

Hello fellow AMMers!

I am gathering information and opinions on how people in the arts and culture fields navigate social media (any platform). I am sure many of us have been followed by or follow colleagues, networks, organizations, ect. through our personal social media accounts. We want to follow these people/organizations on social media but don't really want them to see the pictures our BFF posted from Spring Break 2005, know what I mean? 

What's the consensus on this gray area where two worlds meet? Where people we know professionally can follow our personal lives? Many people use their social media profiles for both personal and professional reasons. Thoughts on that? In the present day there are few boundaries when we conduct ourselves online and is it appropriate for colleagues to be following each other? Following a person/organization online is one of the best ways to remain current on their projects, work, events, relevant issues, ect. The stark separation between personal life and professional life almost no longer exsists, is this ok? How do you handle it? 

I want to know all your thoughts on the matter! 

Hello fellow AMMers!

I am gathering information and opinions on how people in the arts and culture fields navigate social media (any platform). I am sure many of us have been followed by or follow colleagues, networks, organizations, ect. through our personal social media accounts. We want to follow these people/organizations on social media but don't really want them to see the pictures our BFF posted from Spring Break 2005, know what I mean? 

What's the consensus on this gray area where two worlds meet? Where people we know professionally can follow our personal lives? Many people use their social media profiles for both personal and professional reasons. Thoughts on that? In the present day there are few boundaries when we conduct ourselves online and is it appropriate for colleagues to be following each other? Following a person/organization online is one of the best ways to remain current on their projects, work, events, relevant issues, ect. The stark separation between personal life and professional life almost no longer exsists, is this ok? How do you handle it? 

I want to know all your thoughts on the matter! 

I find that LinkedIn is my preferred method when interacting with colleges to begin with.It has your work history and a direct messaging platform that you can use to communicate easily and quickly that I feel is sufficient for communicating with colleges. If my college and I do develop more of a friendship I will accept other social media requests such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. 

I do keep my Facebook private but once you add people they can see everything you have posted. My advice for photos from college that are potentially controversial is to save them to your computer and then to delete them from your page or have a friend remove the tagged photo of you/ only remove the tag. In general I tell most people to not post anything to the internet you would not want in a presentation during a staff meeting. That being said, for posts you can block specific individuals from seeing them. If you have a  post that you feel you must share but do not want colleges to see you can hide that post from those people.

I have my twitter and Instagram public, but I do not post anything that is revealing or controversial or inappropriate. You can still post photos of you out with a group of friends at a bar, but I leave the drink placed on the table on in my hand, never a photo of me actually drinking an adult beverage.

Everything you post online has the potential to reflect on you professionally and as a general rule I think that it is best to tread on the safe side. If you choose to you can not add professional contacts on your personal pages. I know several people who do this and I think it is perfectly acceptable. As long as you can direct them to a source where they can add you such as LinkedIn you can stave off any hurt feelings or awkwardness.

Hello fellow AMMers!

I am gathering information and opinions on how people in the arts and culture fields navigate social media (any platform). I am sure many of us have been followed by or follow colleagues, networks, organizations, ect. through our personal social media accounts. We want to follow these people/organizations on social media but don't really want them to see the pictures our BFF posted from Spring Break 2005, know what I mean? 

What's the consensus on this gray area where two worlds meet? Where people we know professionally can follow our personal lives? Many people use their social media profiles for both personal and professional reasons. Thoughts on that? In the present day there are few boundaries when we conduct ourselves online and is it appropriate for colleagues to be following each other? Following a person/organization online is one of the best ways to remain current on their projects, work, events, relevant issues, ect. The stark separation between personal life and professional life almost no longer exsists, is this ok? How do you handle it? 

I want to know all your thoughts on the matter! 

Basically, I don't post anything on any platform that I wouldn't be comfortable with colleagues or the Board of the museum seeing. I used try to keep LinkedIn for professional use and Facebook for personal use, but its just not working out very well. So now I highly "curate" my posts and I don't follow or like anything that has a whiff of controversy. It's not totally authentic but, then again, what is? Just my two cents. -Jenny

I find that LinkedIn is my preferred method when interacting with colleges to begin with.It has your work history and a direct messaging platform that you can use to communicate easily and quickly that I feel is sufficient for communicating with colleges. If my college and I do develop more of a friendship I will accept other social media requests such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. 

I do keep my Facebook private but once you add people they can see everything you have posted. My advice for photos from college that are potentially controversial is to save them to your computer and then to delete them from your page or have a friend remove the tagged photo of you/ only remove the tag. In general I tell most people to not post anything to the internet you would not want in a presentation during a staff meeting. That being said, for posts you can block specific individuals from seeing them. If you have a  post that you feel you must share but do not want colleges to see you can hide that post from those people.

I have my twitter and Instagram public, but I do not post anything that is revealing or controversial or inappropriate. You can still post photos of you out with a group of friends at a bar, but I leave the drink placed on the table on in my hand, never a photo of me actually drinking an adult beverage.

Everything you post online has the potential to reflect on you professionally and as a general rule I think that it is best to tread on the safe side. If you choose to you can not add professional contacts on your personal pages. I know several people who do this and I think it is perfectly acceptable. As long as you can direct them to a source where they can add you such as LinkedIn you can stave off any hurt feelings or awkwardness.

Hello fellow AMMers!

I am gathering information and opinions on how people in the arts and culture fields navigate social media (any platform). I am sure many of us have been followed by or follow colleagues, networks, organizations, ect. through our personal social media accounts. We want to follow these people/organizations on social media but don't really want them to see the pictures our BFF posted from Spring Break 2005, know what I mean? 

What's the consensus on this gray area where two worlds meet? Where people we know professionally can follow our personal lives? Many people use their social media profiles for both personal and professional reasons. Thoughts on that? In the present day there are few boundaries when we conduct ourselves online and is it appropriate for colleagues to be following each other? Following a person/organization online is one of the best ways to remain current on their projects, work, events, relevant issues, ect. The stark separation between personal life and professional life almost no longer exsists, is this ok? How do you handle it? 

I want to know all your thoughts on the matter! 

Hello fellow AMMers!

I am gathering information and opinions on how people in the arts and culture fields navigate social media (any platform). I am sure many of us have been followed by or follow colleagues, networks, organizations, ect. through our personal social media accounts. We want to follow these people/organizations on social media but don't really want them to see the pictures our BFF posted from Spring Break 2005, know what I mean? 

What's the consensus on this gray area where two worlds meet? Where people we know professionally can follow our personal lives? Many people use their social media profiles for both personal and professional reasons. Thoughts on that? In the present day there are few boundaries when we conduct ourselves online and is it appropriate for colleagues to be following each other? Following a person/organization online is one of the best ways to remain current on their projects, work, events, relevant issues, ect. The stark separation between personal life and professional life almost no longer exsists, is this ok? How do you handle it? 

I want to know all your thoughts on the matter! 

Deciding which platform you are going to use for which purpose is just good social media practice. As others have said, I also keep my Facebook account personal. I have friended a couple of close colleagues with whom I attend social events outside of work. Those I know only at work, I don't interact with on Facebook. Most people understand when you explain this to them. I have labeled colleagues so that they cannot see any photo that is posted by others who have tagged me. This makes it less likely that they will see content that doesn't come from me. I will caution against setting up two Facebook accounts as this is against Facebook's user agreement and if they catch it they will freeze your accounts.

LinkedIn is a great space for professional connections. I also have multiple Twitter accounts, but really only use one of them for my professional life. I don't tweet that much, but use it as a news feed to keep up with the museum and nonprofit communities.

The lines further blur when you are also the social media manager for your museum. Thankfully, I most often accidentally post Museum posts to my personal feeds rather than the other way around. It definitely takes another level of concentration to make sure the correct content is ending up in the correct space.

I echo the advice to simply not post anything you wouldn't want your coworkers or board to see. I do not discuss work unless it is a 100% positive manner. I also try not to share everything that is going on at the Museum so as not to annoy my friends with my professional life. If we are having an event that I think my friends will enjoy, I do share it and I encourage my coworkers to do the same if they feel comfortable doing so. This helps boost our reach.

Hello fellow AMMers!

I am gathering information and opinions on how people in the arts and culture fields navigate social media (any platform). I am sure many of us have been followed by or follow colleagues, networks, organizations, ect. through our personal social media accounts. We want to follow these people/organizations on social media but don't really want them to see the pictures our BFF posted from Spring Break 2005, know what I mean? 

What's the consensus on this gray area where two worlds meet? Where people we know professionally can follow our personal lives? Many people use their social media profiles for both personal and professional reasons. Thoughts on that? In the present day there are few boundaries when we conduct ourselves online and is it appropriate for colleagues to be following each other? Following a person/organization online is one of the best ways to remain current on their projects, work, events, relevant issues, ect. The stark separation between personal life and professional life almost no longer exsists, is this ok? How do you handle it? 

I want to know all your thoughts on the matter! 

Hello fellow AMMers!

I am gathering information and opinions on how people in the arts and culture fields navigate social media (any platform). I am sure many of us have been followed by or follow colleagues, networks, organizations, ect. through our personal social media accounts. We want to follow these people/organizations on social media but don't really want them to see the pictures our BFF posted from Spring Break 2005, know what I mean? 

What's the consensus on this gray area where two worlds meet? Where people we know professionally can follow our personal lives? Many people use their social media profiles for both personal and professional reasons. Thoughts on that? In the present day there are few boundaries when we conduct ourselves online and is it appropriate for colleagues to be following each other? Following a person/organization online is one of the best ways to remain current on their projects, work, events, relevant issues, ect. The stark separation between personal life and professional life almost no longer exsists, is this ok? How do you handle it? 

I want to know all your thoughts on the matter! 

I use one social media (on a publicly accessible social network, Twitter) account for all purposes, professional and personal. I post about politics, controversy and personal interests. I do not censor myself. I post about museums and the museum sector, in both a positive and critical manner. I engage other museum professionals in public conversations about the sector, both positively and critically. Nothing bad has ever happened as a consequence of my social media activity in any job I've had in my 20-year career (admittedly, social media was less of a concern at the beginning of that career).

The people who get in trouble for social media posts are the ones whose behavior is truly reprehensible. Racist, anti-semitic or misogynist ramblings tend to get people in trouble. I don't express those things because that's not who I am, not because I'm separating myself from my business persona. If you're dramatically altering your behavior at your office, you might want to consider the possibility that you are ill-matched to your institution or it's culture. The same applies to online behavior.

If you're using an official institution account, that obviously changes things, but if you're just someone on a social network who happens to work for a museum, it really is silly to create two accounts to try and divide yourself into two different people. People who can't separate you from your institution when you talk about politics or your dog or whatever are generally safe to ignore. They're certainly not worth the trouble of worrying about or redefining your personal experience of the world over.

In my experience, separating these things into different accounts is a defense mechanism against a threat that doesn't really exist. The only times you have to worry about these things are:

1. When you post truly upsetting, offensive or disturbing things that you probably shouldn't share on any account, personal or otherwise.
2. When your employer is paranoid, overly defensive or trying to hide something. In which case, maybe leave that job anyway?

I respectfully disagree with the idea that you should create two versions of yourself online for personal and professional life. You are one person. You will be hired as one person (or be miserable in a mismatched culture). You will or will not be fired as one person (regardless of your online conduct). Be who you are, and then be amazed how little it actually matters. You won't get fired. Your museum will not burn to the ground. There will not protesters and picket lines. It's fine, really.

Hello fellow AMMers!

I am gathering information and opinions on how people in the arts and culture fields navigate social media (any platform). I am sure many of us have been followed by or follow colleagues, networks, organizations, ect. through our personal social media accounts. We want to follow these people/organizations on social media but don't really want them to see the pictures our BFF posted from Spring Break 2005, know what I mean? 

What's the consensus on this gray area where two worlds meet? Where people we know professionally can follow our personal lives? Many people use their social media profiles for both personal and professional reasons. Thoughts on that? In the present day there are few boundaries when we conduct ourselves online and is it appropriate for colleagues to be following each other? Following a person/organization online is one of the best ways to remain current on their projects, work, events, relevant issues, ect. The stark separation between personal life and professional life almost no longer exsists, is this ok? How do you handle it? 

I want to know all your thoughts on the matter! 

I use one social media (on a publicly accessible social network, Twitter) account for all purposes, professional and personal. I post about politics, controversy and personal interests. I do not censor myself. I post about museums and the museum sector, in both a positive and critical manner. I engage other museum professionals in public conversations about the sector, both positively and critically. Nothing bad has ever happened as a consequence of my social media activity in any job I've had in my 20-year career (admittedly, social media was less of a concern at the beginning of that career).

The people who get in trouble for social media posts are the ones whose behavior is truly reprehensible. Racist, anti-semitic or misogynist ramblings tend to get people in trouble. I don't express those things because that's not who I am, not because I'm separating myself from my business persona. If you're dramatically altering your behavior at your office, you might want to consider the possibility that you are ill-matched to your institution or it's culture. The same applies to online behavior.

If you're using an official institution account, that obviously changes things, but if you're just someone on a social network who happens to work for a museum, it really is silly to create two accounts to try and divide yourself into two different people. People who can't separate you from your institution when you talk about politics or your dog or whatever are generally safe to ignore. They're certainly not worth the trouble of worrying about or redefining your personal experience of the world over.

In my experience, separating these things into different accounts is a defense mechanism against a threat that doesn't really exist. The only times you have to worry about these things are:

1. When you post truly upsetting, offensive or disturbing things that you probably shouldn't share on any account, personal or otherwise.
2. When your employer is paranoid, overly defensive or trying to hide something. In which case, maybe leave that job anyway?

I respectfully disagree with the idea that you should create two versions of yourself online for personal and professional life. You are one person. You will be hired as one person (or be miserable in a mismatched culture). You will or will not be fired as one person (regardless of your online conduct). Be who you are, and then be amazed how little it actually matters. You won't get fired. Your museum will not burn to the ground. There will not protesters and picket lines. It's fine, really.

Hello fellow AMMers!

I am gathering information and opinions on how people in the arts and culture fields navigate social media (any platform). I am sure many of us have been followed by or follow colleagues, networks, organizations, ect. through our personal social media accounts. We want to follow these people/organizations on social media but don't really want them to see the pictures our BFF posted from Spring Break 2005, know what I mean? 

What's the consensus on this gray area where two worlds meet? Where people we know professionally can follow our personal lives? Many people use their social media profiles for both personal and professional reasons. Thoughts on that? In the present day there are few boundaries when we conduct ourselves online and is it appropriate for colleagues to be following each other? Following a person/organization online is one of the best ways to remain current on their projects, work, events, relevant issues, ect. The stark separation between personal life and professional life almost no longer exsists, is this ok? How do you handle it? 

I want to know all your thoughts on the matter! 

Hello fellow AMMers!

I am gathering information and opinions on how people in the arts and culture fields navigate social media (any platform). I am sure many of us have been followed by or follow colleagues, networks, organizations, ect. through our personal social media accounts. We want to follow these people/organizations on social media but don't really want them to see the pictures our BFF posted from Spring Break 2005, know what I mean? 

What's the consensus on this gray area where two worlds meet? Where people we know professionally can follow our personal lives? Many people use their social media profiles for both personal and professional reasons. Thoughts on that? In the present day there are few boundaries when we conduct ourselves online and is it appropriate for colleagues to be following each other? Following a person/organization online is one of the best ways to remain current on their projects, work, events, relevant issues, ect. The stark separation between personal life and professional life almost no longer exsists, is this ok? How do you handle it? 

I want to know all your thoughts on the matter! 

My practices seem to follow others.  I definitely reach out professionally on my Linked In account.  This is true of people I meet at networking events and business functions.  If the relationship turns out to be more of a personal connection, I will then connect through Facebook. Regarding Instagram, we maintain a Museum account, which I follow, but then I keep my own account separate from that one.  Also, for my own Instagram account - which is rather new - I haven't automatically migrated all my contacts over to that account. I try to treat them more individually with regards to contacts and content.

Jerry Kajpust

Hello fellow AMMers!

I am gathering information and opinions on how people in the arts and culture fields navigate social media (any platform). I am sure many of us have been followed by or follow colleagues, networks, organizations, ect. through our personal social media accounts. We want to follow these people/organizations on social media but don't really want them to see the pictures our BFF posted from Spring Break 2005, know what I mean? 

What's the consensus on this gray area where two worlds meet? Where people we know professionally can follow our personal lives? Many people use their social media profiles for both personal and professional reasons. Thoughts on that? In the present day there are few boundaries when we conduct ourselves online and is it appropriate for colleagues to be following each other? Following a person/organization online is one of the best ways to remain current on their projects, work, events, relevant issues, ect. The stark separation between personal life and professional life almost no longer exsists, is this ok? How do you handle it? 

I want to know all your thoughts on the matter! 

Hello fellow AMMers!

I am gathering information and opinions on how people in the arts and culture fields navigate social media (any platform). I am sure many of us have been followed by or follow colleagues, networks, organizations, ect. through our personal social media accounts. We want to follow these people/organizations on social media but don't really want them to see the pictures our BFF posted from Spring Break 2005, know what I mean? 

What's the consensus on this gray area where two worlds meet? Where people we know professionally can follow our personal lives? Many people use their social media profiles for both personal and professional reasons. Thoughts on that? In the present day there are few boundaries when we conduct ourselves online and is it appropriate for colleagues to be following each other? Following a person/organization online is one of the best ways to remain current on their projects, work, events, relevant issues, ect. The stark separation between personal life and professional life almost no longer exsists, is this ok? How do you handle it? 

I want to know all your thoughts on the matter!