Social Media is fun, informative, instant, etc. Social Media can also be mind numbing, addictive, and cause so many other issues. There is a dark side of Social Media . . .and how you use it.

There are many posts that are out of pure stupidity. These posts fall under the category of the "law of unintended consequences," meaning the post you posted was rather innocent (in your mind), yet from another perspective it  was interpreted negatively.

Keep in mind that what you post is not as private as you think it is. Your post may seem funny or innocent, but what if it looks like it was written by a teenager or has major grammatical errors? I have seen people post vitriolic posts against people they disagree with that are colleagues, other business professionals or past clients. You will never know the opportunities you miss because of what you post.

You may think you have set your settings to be private, you may think the posts are between you and your 500+ friends on Facebook. . .just keep in mind that nothing is private online. . .NOTHING! Even if your setting is to "friends only," one of those 'friends' may be just the connection you needed to land that gig or that opportunity. It could have been a potential client, or maybe even a great friend, but your vitriolic post just ended that.

The lesson is this:
What you post online can be archived and made searchable, forever. . . . .think twice before posting.