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Transparent Ways to See Through People on Social Media

The much debated “transparency” issue is discussed at least once a week in a chat. How can you see through the slick persona speeding by at the speed of light?

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Jessica Northey always says “If you spot it, you got.” Sometimes the traits that you see in other people are the qualities that you see in yourself, but some other people just confuse the heck out of you! Look at their twitter stream, what are they tweeting and sharing?

Here are a few clues to help you decide is this person for real or full of crap?

1. LinkedIn information is non-existent or incomplete

Yes, sometimes people choose not to use LinkedIn but other times, the information doesn’t jive with their bio.

2. Avatars from 1972

Keep it current and fresh people. Make sure you are comfortable meeting people in real life and can go to a tweet up feeling confident and happy (and recognizable!)

3. Personal account hiding behind a logo

Things that make you go hmmmmmm? People respond to faces not eggs or logos.

4. Expert/Ninja/Guru self-titles

What are you thinking here? You are going to get me 1,000 new followers? You only have 103. This isn’t authentic.

5. Stealing tweets!

Are you retweeting someone else’s tweet and removing their name? Are you taking something they wrote and passing it off as your own? This is considered intellectual property and it is not okay to do this in the Twitterverse.

6. Veiled messages

Just be honest and upfront. Say what you mean. What are you trying to hide?

7. Inconsistency has a close cousin: inauthenticity

Different profiles on various social media pages immediately raise eyebrows. Real people keep their messaging the same. Really! Consistency is always key.

8. Dishonesty

People will catch your lies, eventually!

9. Fake engagement!

Don’t tweet me for a higher Klout score — tweet me because you want to talk to me. If you don’t want to talk to me, that’s ok too!

10. You say you are single

Problem is, your Facebook says you are in a relationship and all the photos back that up.

11. Hidden or deleted tweets

Why are you hiding or deleting your tweets?

12. No real name on account at all.

What red flags do you see in social media transparency? What sets off the alarm bells for you? I would really love to hear what YOU think are issues within Social Media with transparency. Do you call people out if you see issues, ignore or unfollow?

15 Comments

  1. I’ll have to disagree with number one, all personal fun I keep totally separate from my LinkedIn. Nothing wrong with that. Although, I do need to put a pic of myself and not just an avatar on some of my other networks… when I find one I like 🙂

    1. Hi John,
      Disagreeing is A-ok. I do not have the same level of personal information on Facebook as I do on Linked In. Keeping it professional is transparent. 🙂
      Peggy

  3. I use my logo to increase brand recognition. There are personal pictures on my Facebook page. I don’t see an issue there.

    1. Hi Stephanie,
      It is a personal choice, but many feel more connected to a face than a logo. Do you have your business logo on your personal Twitter account? Just curious?
      Peggy

  4. Great post, Peggy! Of course, because you’re so spot-on, some of them I had to laugh out loud at! x

    1. I appreciate that! It tried to make it humorous but you never know how people will read things.
      Cheers,
      Peggy

  5. Thanks for this filter, Peg. Navigating and trust are key to gathering tribes that matter. 

  6. Hi Kelly,

    Good point! Although face to face we have many more cues, don’t we?
    Peggy

  7. Hey Jure!
    Klout – we talk about it so much in Social Media – it is advertising and also the website so many check daily to see that their score is. Probably not very healthy.
    Thanks for reading and sharing my post!
    Peggy

  8. Wow, I didn’t know all these neat tricks! Here I’ve been authentic and even have a picture up that makes me look older! And, with my wife, no less. I think I’m gonna re-invent myself now!

    Great piece, Peggy! 

    1. Bruce – you don’t need to be reinvented at all. You are fabulous!
      Thanks for reading & commenting.

      Peggy

  9. Great blog. Klout score? I have a lot to learn. Also loved the Fascination Factor. I will be checking in often. Great site.

    1. Hello Rebecca,
      Thrilled that you enjoyed my blog, if you haven’t read Fascinate I highly recommend it.
      Lovely to meet you!
      Positively,

      Peggy

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