Don't Be a Social Media Whiner

I have a confession. Some of my Facebook friends are whiners. "Jane is soooooo tired again today," or "John is thinking this terrible week will never, ever end."

That's okay every once in a while - everyone has bad days - but the repeat offenders really get old.

I don't see any whiners on LinkedIn. Because that's a place for professionals, and professionals don't whine. I don't find whiners on Twitter because, well, I choose not to follow whiners on Twitter. Unfortunately online communities and forums can be a magnet for these types as well. And bloggers who tend to be negative all the time are a turnoff to me, too.

My boss is always reminding me to stay positive. It's a good motto in life, and it's an even better motto in social media. That goes for whether it's your personal brand or your marketing efforts. If all people know or see of you is what you post, tweet, or blog about online, don't you want that to be positive? Impactful, insightful, yes ... but also positive.

Staying positive takes work. It is all too easy to default to whining and negativity. But my very-Southern mama used to tell me "don't say anything at all unless you have something nice to say." She was right.

I'm not saying I'm 100% positive all the time myself - those close to me know better. But I do try to be conscious of it - while both online and off.

So I'll leave you with a book recommendation on a somewhat related topic. It's a quick read with an important message, written by two ad-agency women in New York. It's a few years old but one of the business books that has resonated with me and our agency philisophy the most: The Power of Nice.

Happy summer reading! And stay positive.