Your 5 point New Year social media check
Happy New Year! For many it's new year, new you, so get the 2020s off on the right foot by taking 10 mins to checkyour social media presences are ship shape:
1. Check your privacy settings
With scandals and furore and GDPR, data privacy has never been more in the public eye. Over the last year all the social media platforms have made it super easy to check and change as you see fit.
Take the time to go through and tick/untick what you want and don't want to share. Just go to your Settings > Privacy and follow the signposted menus from there.
Lock down who is able to tag you in photos and posts. Consider being extra careful with Facebook, since many use this as a friends and family platform. (Here's a good WIRED guide that despite being a couple of years old, still coves the major things to consider)
Pick and choose what if any ads you want to see.
You might also use this opportunity to download a copy of your data - perhaps for precious memories, perhaps just to have a gander at what data exactly they have collected about you.
2. Update your profile pic and cover photo
Your picture is the first impression people get of you - is yours still fit for purpose?
Take a minute to consider. If it isn't, try something else.
Some guidelines:
- Make sure you can actually see your face - photos that are at a distance are hard to make out in a tiny thumbnail (and on a smartphone screen, where most people will be viewing it).
- Don't use group pics - as with online dating profiles, it's really hard to tell which is you.
- If it's a profile you're using in a professional context (e.g. LinkedIn), choose something that gives right the impression of you. It doesn't have to be super formal in a suit - just something that shows who you are.
- If it's a more playful, personal profile you can be more free an easy. Just always be aware of the impression it gives and what context you may want your profile to be seen. Maybe stay away from T-shirts with offensive slogans unless that's what you want!
- With cover photos you can show a bit more personality. You don't have to pick something bland to do with your work, but maybe a nice landscape or background that shows a part of who you are.
3. Update your biog
As with your photo, the short blurb under your profile is many people's first impression of who you are, and whether they want to follow/connect with you.
Make sure it's up to date with all the relevant information - if your job title or company is what you want to show, make sure that's up to date. Put the relevant links to your website or tag other profiles (e.g. your company or projects) if relevant.
Got a smart sentence to summarise you as an elevator pitch? Re-read it and check it's giving the right impression and not coming off as too smarmy. We and our circumstances change a lot quickly - something written a few years ago may not be suitable now as it was then.
4. Check your username and vanity URL
Are you still @magicalpony82 but wanting to be on social media for work? Maybe it's time to change your username.
Also double check your LinkedIn URL. By default it tends to be something like linkedin.com/in/johnsmith-837383673 - it's worth clicking on the edit pencil button on the right of your profile to change this into something more memorable and easier to type (e.g. johnsmith or johnsmitheditor. Again, this has to be not already in use, but you can try different variations if your first option is already taken).
5. Check what you've posted
I said above that "something written a few years ago may not be suitable now as it was then". This goes just as well for your actual posts themselves.
You don't have to exhaustively scroll back to the end of your profile timeline. But have a quick scroll back for at least 5 mins (you can use the timeline on Facebook to skip about and dip into years back, which is useful). See whether there are things you would rather now hide or delete. And get a sense of what you may have been comfortable sharing back then, but may aren't now.
BONUS: delete?
After going through this, you should have a clear idea of what is on your social profiles and what you want to use them for. So consider this: do I need it at all?
Do I need that Snapchat I started out of curiosity? Or that joke twitter account I updated 5 times then abandoned? Do I really want to be on TikTok?
If the answer is no, then there's no shame in deleting your account. In fact, some platforms (coughFacebookcough) - desperate to keep your custom - offer a 'take a break' or 'cooling off' period in which you can "delete" but change your mind within a few months.
Any social media should be fun or interesting or informative or useful. If it's a burden or not enjoyable then take a break. A day, a week, a month. And see if you miss it. You might find you did and get back on with a clearer head - or not.
New year, new you.