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! 

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Polly Toledo
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Hi Polly,

I feel like more and more, people are selecting one particular platform to use for their professionally-focused social media content. For me, that platform is Twitter. I'm very active there, but my focus is almost exclusively about museums: the work I do, the museums I visit, and the content I select to share that is relevant to the museum community. It's an incredibly vibrant platform for museum people, and the contacts I've made via Twitter have changed the scope and level of professionalism of my work. I've even got paid speaking gigs as a direct result of being active on Twitter. 

I say keep your FB account personal and private, and if people in your professional circle want to connect with you via social media, direct them to the platform you've selected for that purpose.

All of this assumes that you have an interest in maintaining a professionally-focused presence on social media. If you don't, then I suppose you just have to be more blunt with acquaintances and professional colleagues about how you limit your social media circle(s). I realize that's easy to say, but I do wonder if people could/would be willing to be so straight forward! 

I'm eager to hear what others have to say on this topic as well.

-Mark

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Mark B. Schlemmer

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.

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Jessica Strom
Education Administrative Coordinator
San Antonio Zoo
San Antonio, TX

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

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Jenny Benjamin
Director
Museum of Vision
San Francisco CA

Original Message:
Sent: 08-19-2016 11:00 AM
From: Jessica Strom
Subject: Social Media Etiquette Mixing Professional and Personal Social Media

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.

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Jessica Strom
Education Administrative Coordinator
San Antonio Zoo
San Antonio, TX

I have two Facebook pages, one is my personal page where I can talk about my hobbies, sports, politics, art/culture, etc.  The other is my business page, where I post only things that are relevant to that field (often about my own work in progress).  This means that there are some people who participate in both pages (I have a number of friends who are professionals in my area of focus), but so far I've had no controversy or unnecessary drama on the business page. 

Michael

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Michael Holland
Principal/Owner
Michael Holland Productions
Bozeman MT

Original Message:
Sent: 08-19-2016 11:59 AM
From: Jenny Benjamin
Subject: Social Media Etiquette Mixing Professional and Personal Social Media

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

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Jenny Benjamin
Director
Museum of Vision
San Francisco CA

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.

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Elizabeth Bazan
Assistant Curator of Education
Illinois State Museum
Springfield IL

Since no one's mentioned it yet, I thought I should add that Facebook allows you to "Create a Page" for your public self, and has categories like musician, artist, writer, politician, etc. It doesn't have much for non-profit professionals, but it does have a generic "public figure" category, which might work. It could be a happy medium for those who are more comfortable with the Facebook platform, but don't want to combine personal and professional. I've looked into it a couple of times but never committed - I added some colleagues pretty early on and it seems awkward now to ask them to follow my Page and not my personal account.

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Elisabeth Loya
Advancement Services Coordinator
Georgia O'Keeffe Museum
Santa Fe NM

Original Message:
Sent: 08-22-2016 11:09 AM
From: Elizabeth Bazan
Subject: Social Media Etiquette Mixing Professional and Personal Social Media

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.

------------------------------
Elizabeth Bazan
Assistant Curator of Education
Illinois State Museum
Springfield IL

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.

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Matt Popke
Denver Art Museum
Denver CO

Thank you for all of your input. There are certainly diverse attitudes and practices. As for me personally, I do not separate my personal and professional contacts on Facebook. Everything I post and respond to are things that I would say or respond to at work. If there is an image I do not want people to see that was posted by someone else I untag myself or ask them to remove it. Although there has never been a need to. Twitter I use strictly for professional purposes because the reason I got on twitter was to follow conversations at conferences.  Having dual accounts doesn't seem realistic to me when people are branding themselves online. LinkedIn, I use mostly as a 21st century Rolodex. Lines between personal and professional do get blurred online and people are making individual choices on how to best navigate that. I am loving all the feedback! 

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Polly Toledo

Original Message:
Sent: 08-23-2016 10:55 AM
From: Matt Popke
Subject: Social Media Etiquette Mixing Professional and Personal Social Media

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.

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Matt Popke
Denver Art Museum
Denver CO

Apologies, I should have clarified that my two Facebook accounts are distinctly different, as one is a company/business page and the other is my personal page (which is allowed by Facebook policy). 

In general, I agree with the "just don't be a jerk and you won't have a problem" premise, but it can sometimes be challenging to control what others post on your page, especially in rapidly expanding comment exchanges.  (Yes, it is possible to remove comments if necessary, but this can become a cumbersome task.)  Keeping those distractions out is much easier when the only discussion on the page is about the business.  However, for those who do not have businesses of their own, a different solution may be preferred. 

Cheers,

       Michael

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Michael Holland
Principal/Owner
Michael Holland Productions
Bozeman MT

Original Message:
Sent: 08-23-2016 10:55 AM
From: Matt Popke
Subject: Social Media Etiquette Mixing Professional and Personal Social Media

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.

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Matt Popke
Denver Art Museum
Denver CO

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

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Jerry Kajpust
Deputy Director of External Relations
Leslie-Lohman Museum of Gay and Lesbian Art
New York NY

Some museums have social media guidelines that help with this issue.  For example, the Minnesota Historical Society's guidelines say:

• Personal social media sites identifying the owner/user as a <organization> employee or volunteer and are covering <organization> issues/products/services should seek approval of <staff|committee|department|contact person> otherwise please make it clear to your readers that the views you express are yours alone and that they do not necessarily reflect the <organization>’s views.

The issue here is really how your identify yourself and who you speak for.  It's best to be clear about both.

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Sally Yerkovich PhD
Adjunct Professor and Director, Institute of Museum Ethics
MA Program Museum Professions - Seton Hall University
South Orange NJ

Original Message:
Sent: 08-23-2016 12:36 PM
From: Jerry Kajpust
Subject: Social Media Etiquette Mixing Professional and Personal Social Media

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

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Jerry Kajpust
Deputy Director of External Relations
Leslie-Lohman Museum of Gay and Lesbian Art
New York NY

Everyone here has great input, and my choices involve much of what has been already stated.  Authentic and accessible persons should be expected to have a professional channel in addition to our personal persona.  Just like a lot tof you, I keep the two worlds separate.  Reading how you all manage the many networks has given me a few tips, so thanks.   

My 2 cents - what we do online should be a reflection of who we are IRL, both professionally and personally.  SM posts should not be a worry, whether people know you as a colleague or friend or both, because the authenticity reamins the same.

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Geoffrey Bessin
General Manager - US
IntuiLab
Cambridge MA