There's been several ideas floating through my head in regards to marketing and social media. I have been thinking about things like lying (read Peter Shankman's take on it) and how you present yourself. I have been thinking about Twitter and how some tweets can make you angry or irritated.  In the end, the idea that covers all of the above is self-awareness. How aware are you about how other people perceive you? How aware are you about what others know or can find out?

Unfortunately, I think many people fail at basic self-awareness.  Perhaps it's a psychological safeguard that humans have to not want to think too deeply about what we are doing and less so how other people view what we are doing. I am not in favor of editing yourself just because you might offend someone else. That's not what this is about. It is about being aware that what you say and do does affect other people, sometimes positively and sometimes negatively.

With social media like Twitter and Facebook, most of us are sharing lots of information with lots of people. We are broadcasting our ideas, actions, thoughts, reactions, and even the minutiae of everyday life. Why does someone find it necessary to tell you that she or he is having yogurt for breakfast? Why does someone else feel the need to be snarky and offensive? I was sitting behind someone at a movie screening who was sharing her reactions to the movie on Twitter or Facebook...even though she was with real, live people. What is the call of the etherworld?

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