The Power of Social Media - The Jersey Shore Edition

Paying attention to your online presence is critical in promoting your brand or even yourself. Now this should be obvious, but even I was shocked to get a real life example. Full disclosure: I’m from New Jersey, I’m Italian and I spike (not blow out) my hair, but I’m not a Guido . With that being said, recently, the MTV’s The Jersey Shore came to Atlantic City. Two cast members, Vinny and Situation, made out with the same girl in the same night. That girl – which will remain nameless – was a graduate of my high school class and a Facebook friend to a lot of classmates and me.

Now, what does this foray into horrible pop-culture that spits on New Jersey and Italian culture? The night that the show aired Facebook statuses from my high school classmates lit up with comments like “Did I see who I think I saw?” and “Did anyone see the Jersey Shore tonight?” This was followed by multiple comments of people exclaiming they did. I, who never watched the show up until that point, was immediately interested. With the power of social media, that girl – who I theorize went on the show as a way to further her modeling career – was immediately humiliated. She blocked wall posts and took down her profile picture. I don’t believe she thought about the consequences of her actions in regards to social media.

The lesson to be learned here is that social media is instantaneous – something that should be obvious but should be stated nonetheless. It can be great to help you promote a brand, yourself or a company, but on the other hand, it can cripple you and/or your company. Being aware of what you are doing and what could possibly post up online and/or on social media platforms is critical to a brand. Unfortunately, the girl didn’t consider that before rushing up to the V.I.P. area of the club and doing things that were regrettable.

For a job seeker like myself, there needs to be realization that dumb things you do may end up as a Facebook status seen by others; or worse, it could land you on MTV seen by millions of people worldwide.