I’m certain you’ve met people through Facebook, your blog or even Twitter. You connect with a few select friends and followers who are genuine professionals with solid reputations in the world of social media. Even though you’ve never actually met the people in person - you connect, tweet and in some cases, collaborate and partner.
What happens when these relationships go bad? What do you do about it?
When these relationships go bad, remember that people show up in everything they do just as they are. You can see it if you take time to observe, listen and feel what’s real and true. This is a time when patience as a virtue pays big. When people are less than gracious in their interactions, it doesn’t really change over time. Pay attention!
Keep in mind that social media creates a false sense of professionalism. The informality of 140 characters often masks less than favorable character flaws. True professionalism is present no matter what happens in the relationship. Make sure you always maintain an attitude of professionalism even when the other person has a foul or unprofessional attitude. You have a duty to yourself to be the bigger person at all times. It’s those challenging times that truly bring out the best in each of us.
Own your own stuff by acknowledging your contributions to the problem. Yes, you played a role, too! Personal responsibility is huge and the sooner you face it, the better off you can be. Remember, not everyone sees the world through the same lens that you do. Reflect on how you can learn and grow from the experience. Apply these "learnings"
in the future to ensure social media relationship success.
My mother always taught me to choose my friends carefully. Being somewhat of a rebel, I’ve always trusted until something came up that gave me a reason to question the trust. It’s the know-like-trust factor! In that very order, you must invest the time getting to know your Facebook friends and Twitter followers. Take your time getting to know your select friends’ character and strengths. Follow your heart to determine if you truly like the person and your values are aligned. Then - and only then, are you able to trust and continue building the relationship. Then, you’re able to connect, collaborate, partner and definitely entrust your friendships in social media.
What are your thoughts? How do you handle social media relationships gone bad? I’d love to know your comments.
June 4th, 2009 at 7:27 pm
Wendy,
Wow, what timely material! I have a friend who I was discussing this very thing with. She had been pursued on a SN site about joining the latest and greatest MLM program. The tweeter who was pushing the program, eventually phoned her 3-4 times. The friend didn’t purchase the program. but the pressure was on.
A few weeks later, this same person had contacted her again. This time, she was promoting another MLM. When my friend asked her what happned to the other MLM opportunity.the tweeter said it was dropped because no one would buy it. My friend followed her gut instinct with this person and didn’t purchase the program either time, and it is a good thing since she would have been out of a lot of money if she had. But now my friend has a trust issue, wondering who she can trust on SN sites. So thanks I’ll be sharing this post it was great advice.
Sue Birkam´s last blog post..Getting Clear of the Past
June 4th, 2009 at 9:03 pm
Wendy, truly on point! I realized today that I have many more FB friends I’ve never met than ones I know. I try to be myself, but it doesn’t pay to put it all out there! As with any non-intimate relationship, I think it’s important to hold something back and - as you said - remain observant.
June 5th, 2009 at 10:05 am
You bring up a good point, WendyY. I’ve had a couple of “social networking buddies” really show their “behinds”. The thing is that, when people react out of desperation or fear, they are hardly ever conscious about how much of their underlying nature they are revealing. It’s been a great lesson to learn.
I agree with you: Stay observant, but don’t let the bad apples ruin the amazing potential of connecting with your market, clients, peers and the world at large in this ever global community. As the Desiderada says, “with all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world.”
@MonikahOgando