There’s an old saying that I remember hearing time and time again when I was growing up, “tell me who you are with, and I will tell you who you are.” Basically, you are whom you surround yourself with.
This concept was the core of a conversation I had at the recent Social Media Club San Antonio meeting. Social media has been an arena where users can interact with anyone in the world and connect with people they would otherwise have never been able to talk to. Generally accepted practices say users should be honest, transparent, and accountable for who they are and what they do online. Unlike real life social situations, social media allows us to “block” or “flag” people we choose not to interact with little to no backlash.
The question at hand is, is it worth it?
Guilt by Association
One of the members argued that blocking was better then completely denying or deleting them because their posts will not show in your timelines, with respect to Twitter specifically.
Many of us typically cull our lists to weed out people that spam links, spam unwanted information, or simply do not engage us. Someone new to the social media scene may feel guilty for denying someone all together and allow those users to remain on their “friend” list.
To counter, when people look for someone to follow, it’s natural for them to see who they are following and who is following them. I concur with that assessment because I myself have looked through people’s follower list to see if I could further connect with like-minded professionals.
What message do you send when you have individuals that make your profile look less than desirable? Is there really truth in the idea that by association you can decrease the value of your online presence?
Trimming the Fat
I have always been of the mind to only keep the number of people that I can fully interact with. Another member stated their mantra as being “if you’re not adding to my life, I’m subtracting you from it.”
Number hunters aside, for those of us seriously engaging in conversation across the various social networks, what are your thoughts on the associations you make online. Is there a detriment to not culling your list from time to time?
Speak out!
