What happens in Vegas doesn’t stay in Vegas if you choose to share all the gory details.

There’s been plenty written on maintaining a professional image online.  Dozens, probably hundreds, of articles urge young people to think about how their social media profile stacks up when a potential employer looks at what’s available online.  But what if you are hiring people to represent your company online through social media?

When marketing departments start thinking about using social media, I like to tell the story of one company’s first day tradition which involves taking the new employee out for lunch and asking them to tell the assembled small group their “most embarrassing story.”  When confronted with this little custom, most professionals quickly flip through their mental notes and pull out a humorous and not too embarrassing anecdote.  Preferably one that shows that they can laugh at themselves and casts them in a good, self-deprecating light.

Nothing that involves drunkenness, nudity, illegal drugs or even exercising  poor judgment.

Then there are other people…they pull out some doozies.  These are the people I worry about.  These are the people you shouldn’t entrust with your company’s public image.  If they are willing to share all the sordid details with their co-workers, what are they going to post on the company Facebook page?  And do you really want to chance finding out?