Are You Too Visible?

The other day I asked whether you were invisible as a freelance writer. While invisibility is undesirable, being too visible is also a problem. What do I mean by that? Deb Ng explained it best when she said that online is forever.  It’s great to participate on blogs, forums and social networking sites, but your comments on those sites get indexed, just as your web pages and blog posts do. So it’s wise to think about the image that you’re presenting and the information that you share.

How Much Should You Reveal?

One of my friends on Plurk said the other day that she was restricting the information that she shared online. In the future, she won’t be sharing personal information about family members. After all, they are not members of the site and may not want that information on public display. I see where she’s coming from. Although I am happy to share some personal information (I’m A British freelancer with a lovely husband and a five year old daughter), it’s just not sensible to put identifying information out there when you know you can’t ever take it back.

Censoring Yourself

Similarly, although anyone who reads my comments on any site can tell that I am the person who’s speaking, I don’t express myself in the same way online — or at least, I think more about what I write. If I offend someone, I don’t get to take it back. In fact, it will probably be out there forever, waiting to be found by a prospective client who will make assumptions about me based on that remark.

My Approach To Visibility

Some people solve the issue by keeping different usernames and profiles for their business and social interactions online. For me, that’s too much like hard work. I prefer to be myself, even if that means taking a bit of care about what I say. The people who meet me online will find that I am consistent whether we talk by email, IM, on blogs, forums or on social sites. I don’t mind being visible, but I want to be sure that people don’t get the wrong impression, based on a chance remark. How do you handle your online interactions?

(Photo: markermark)