When it comes to social media, most experts will tell you to let your true personality shine through so your friends/followers/connections know who you really are, and can associate you with your personal brand. As idealistic as this sounds, it’s not quite so simple. Why? Because people are connecting with different groups: close friends, old friends, colleagues, clients, family members, friends of friends, etc. Would you have the same conversation with each group, if face-to-face?

I read a good article on the New York Times website by Claire Cain Miller this morning, who likened Facebook to “… a long extended Thanksgiving dinner with everyone you ever knew, and people find that difficult to deal with.”

Although I believe everyone should be cautious about what they post in their social profiles, I do think there’s a valid reason to have multiple accounts (or at least groups configured in certain platforms like Facebook). For example, I have 2 twitter accounts, and unique followers for both. Many of my followers wouldn’t want to follow my other profile.

@LetJeffHelp is my professional account, where I try to pass useful information off to my network.
@WhoIsJRo is my personal account, where I post stupid (and sometimes politically incorrect) stuff that I think is funny.

Miller’s article is more Facebook-centric, but the theme can transfer to other social platforms as well. Be sure to check it out:

The Many Faces of You – NYTimes.com