Is your Twitter or Facebook profile the real you?

 3rd July 2013    PR Guru 

You may have formed a picture in your head of what I’m like from my rants and ramblings so far. But you know what? You could well be wrong (unless you imagine me as incredibly attractive, popular and brainy). Judging people by what they write can often be wildly inaccurate. I am sure you have seen a much-loved author being interviewed on television, only to be disappointed by how boring they seem, far removed from how you imagined them.

I have been following a certain journalist’s Tweets and Facebook musings, always so witty, dry and intelligent. So when I got a chance to have lunch with this wordsmith, I was all anticipation. I was expecting someone sparkling; fizzing with charisma and charm. When a rather unassuming man greeted me at the table, I naturally gave him my order. I should have been embarrassed to have mistaken the journo for a waiter, but such feelings were quashed after the most boring two hours I have ever spent. How could a man who writes so well be so dull, and also have a rather unhealthy interest in collecting chocolate wrappers? How come he never mentioned this obsession on his Facebook page?

Looking at some of my friends’ Tweets and Facebook updates shows that many are nothing like the person they portray online. The one who pastes lots of pictures of himself partying with upbeat commentary is certainly no barrel of laughs in real life .

So does your Facebook profile reflect the real you? Here are some signs that it might not:

1. How many Facebook friends do you have? If you have hundreds, but never go out, perhaps you’re not as popular as you think.
2. Do you regularly Tweet about every move you make? Write down every passing fancy? This can make you seem mad at best, and sad at worst. And I’m sure you’re neither of those things.
3. Do you look madly attractive in all the pictures of yourself online? And do you really look like that? How old are some of those pictures anyway?
4. Do you like to make a lot of political commentary? A lot of people do this because it gives the impression of being well-informed and clever. But people who really know their stuff are on the news, they don’t just repeat it.
5. If you spend a long time deciding what you want to say, this will make your posts a lot more interesting. But it probably means you are hiding your true self. Being spontaneous could reveal more about your personality, although this isn’t always a good thing.
6. If all your Tweets and Facebook comments are deathly dull, this doesn't necessarily mean you are boring. It could just mean you put all your effort into being entertaining in the real world. Here's hoping.