Paul Gillin Weighs In On Networking Debate

I had the pleasure of attending my local PRSA chapter’s participation in Wednesday’s teleseminar with Paul Gillin , author of “The New Influencers.” The presentation was insightful and fascinating as he looked at the new landscape of media in the Age of the Internet and how public relations professionals must now tread the waters of social media and online networking to reach those who impact buying and perception.

With my previous ponderings on the role of Facebook as the emerging professional networking site of choice and the problematic nature of professional networking invading the online space treated as personal networking by millions of early adopters, the teleseminar’s Q&A period offered a unique chance to ask Mr. Gillin his thoughts. I asked if he thought the Worlds Colliding problem of personal networkers being approached with professional friends on Facebook, MySpace, the blog world and so-on, meant we were evolving into a society of split personalities.

“Yes!” was his answer. (I’ll paraphrase the rest as my shorthand has long been indecipherable.) Gillin said he sees not only no problem with having several different user accounts for various social networking sites, but could foresee circumstances where a person who represents various clients and constituents as a communicator could have many different identities in the online world.

Kevin Dugan of Strategic Public Relations and The Bad Pitch Blog tossed another factor into the whole personal-vs-private discussion when he pointed out no matter how intentional your separation of these worlds is, Google tears it all down. (Darn those clever search engine developers!) A simple Google search would reveal any blog connections to you, unless of course your personal (or professional) activity is done under a pseudonym.

Curious as to Gillin’s further thoughts on the matter beyond the asked question, I emailed him to present the following questions:

1. Do you see potential pitfalls of people juggling multiple identities in the online world?

2. Where should professionals (PR or otherwise) draw the line in becoming a social networking participant on a personal basis?

3. HR professionals are already Googling potential candidates just to see what they can find. Should your Facebook/MySpace/etc., profiles be off limits and how can they be if the information is there and free?

4. How long will it take for the Supreme Court to have to decide what a person’s online world means in terms of their employment?

He answered my email, along with others, on his blog at PaulGillin.com . Here’s how he responded (from PaulGillin.com ):

Your questions imply that people should expect protection over what they say in a public forum beyond those already afforded by the Constitution. I fundamentally disagree with that. The public Internet is every bit as much a public space as Times Square, the exceptions being that one’s indiscretions on the Internet may potentially be seen by many more people and may also be easily searched, copied and stored. It’s no secret that the Internet is a public resource or that public websites are, well, public. I think it’s foolhardy to assume that what you say on the Internet is private.

This puts a greater burden on the individual to be aware of the risks of their behavior and to be discreet. Personally, I would never say anything on a public website that I wouldn’t want published in a newspaper. But the burden is with individual, not with those who witness a person’s behavior. If you want privacy, pick up the phone, use an anonymous e-mail server or encrypt your messages. But don’t expect the courts to come to your rescue. Ignorance of the law is not an excuse for breaking the law, and failing to understand the obvious risks of speaking in a public place should not be an excuse for doing something stupid.

Apparently, Mr. Gillin confused personal and private. He also fails to recognize that not everyone is at work, 24-7. Using his logic, we as professionals are not allowed to have personal lives. At least not on the Internet.

Perhaps this is an employee’s rights issue, but I do think it translates to working with our clients or our companies that want an online presence. If a personal friend jumps on Paul’s blog and leaves a comment using colorful language, are we to think less of him? Will his clients turn away should they happen upon the personal side of their consultant?

Not to belabor the issue, but let’s say Joe PR Man is chosen to author a company blog for Company X, a pharmaceutical giant. In his spare time, Joe PR Man plays around with photography and starts a photo blog. It has nothing to do with Company X or pharmaceuticals and is in no way connected, via hyperlink or otherwise. Joe takes a picture of a nude model, puts it on his blog and is fired when someone emails Company X CEO with a link to the image.

Is this what we want the Internet to become?

The topic is one that I think we in the online community should broach and quickly. I use some social networking tools for personal social networks. Does the transparency of the Internet mean that I can no longer do so under my own name?

Consider the floor yours.

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