Love And The Web

Just when you thought employers were the only ones checking your online profile, in comes an unexpected guest--one who you never thought you would have to worry about yet. Potential suitors are now starting to really do research on who they are courting on dating websites. We have all heard the saying "watch what you do because you never know who is watching you" and that has never held more truth than it does in today's technologically advanced world. As it turns out those pictures from that weekend in Miami will not only hurt your chances of getting a job you really want but if you're engaging in online dating it could potentially cost you a relationship.

We tend to think what we do in life only affects us and should have no bearing on a future job and or relationship. In some instances this is very true. People, if given the chance to change mostly do, and their past can be swept under the rug. Unfortunately, when you include social networks as well Google and other search engines, your past can be dug up without your permission and sometimes be unfairly used against you.

We have to consider our online profiles a part of our brand. Its an extension of us that people won't see in person, but they can get an idea of who we are based on what they see when we are being checked out. The reason employers do background checks is to see how well you represent yourself when you are not in the office. They are looking to hire you and now you are not only a representative of your brand, but you are now a representative of your employer. Image is everything and one bad apple can cast a dark shadow over a company that it has to dig its way out.

What has been discovered is that the online dating community doesn't fully trust the profile that is created on the websites itself, so they take it a step further and begin to search social media profiles and do Google searches that dig even deeper into a persons authentic profile. While it may seem like its jumping the gun to go through all of that--and there's is no guarantee that you and your potential partner will ever date--it’s a sound strategy that that can help avoid any unwarranted situation. As it turns out, the place to let loose or participate in any illicit activity has no place on the internet if you are looking for love online or are hoping to score a job with a respectable corporation. Your actions are documented whether you like it or not and will always be accessible with a little typing and searching. While social networking is a chance to let loose and communicate always keep in mind there is always somebody watching you.

Centel Media Weighs the Good and Evil of Social Media

Much can be said about the influence of social media and its role in today's society. Some of it’s good and some of it’s bad, but there is no denying that it has firmly entrenched itself in all of our lives whether we choose to acknowledge it or not. As the years have progressed, the role of social media has expanded from simply connecting with your family and peers, to Fortune 500 companies throwing millions of dollars to networks like Facebook to advertise their product to the millions of users that visit each day. What this shows is that social media has now become, in some instances, a savior for businesses who begin to track how many hits their Twitter feed might get or how many likes their Facebook page has.

Businesses are taking a more active role in social media and are capitalizing on its ability to connect with fans from all across the world. Visit any website and you are bound to see a company promoting their Twitter, Facebook and Instagram pages. Not engaging in social media is too risky in today's fast moving world. Most major business can afford to hire their own social media team to make sure customers are getting constant updates, as well as any perks they might be offering (such as discounts for following on Facebook). Being able to connect with your fans is a great thing, but we can't forget that the main purpose of a business is to make money. Visibility through social media strengthens that.

Social media has unintentionally become a tool for spying on rival businesses. Businesses  are realizing that merely competing for market share or earnings will severely stunt their growth. They are now trying to out do each other based on how many likes their Facebook page gets. This has been used as a measuring stick for success. More is better. More likes means more hits to your website. This results in revenue increases because you gave customers an incentive to purchase something by offering them a discount for following you on Facebook or Twitter. It’s a domino effect on a larger scale and when competing businesses see that the revenue for their rival goes up with the help of social media--they quickly want a piece of the action. The world of business has changed right in front of us with the help of the consumer and our never ending desire to have access to all things we love 24 hours a day. The landscape has changed from 10 years ago when you would look to your daily paper for coupons. Today, we can simply have coupons sent to us via email from any social media site, and we are able to redeem the offer in the store right off of our phones.