You know how to use airport check in, right? You check the big luggage that you don’t want to carry onto the plane with you. The stuff you take on the plane is the stuff you need in case you loose your luggage (or more aptly put, in case the airline looses your luggage).

Carry-on luggage contains the practical, can’t’ live without items for your trip. You’ve got your toothbrush and toothpaste, deodorant and other toiletries, cosmetics, a change of clothes, medicine and whatever else you use in your day-to-day routine. You could replace most any of those items when you arrived at your destination, but preparation lets you avoid the hassle.

Common Sense is like that. It’s the preparation that lets you avoid the hassle. In social media, as in any form of communication, common sense rules.

1. Thumper Theology applies. “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say nothing at all.”
2. Does it pass the Grandma test? Would you say something in public (or write something in public social media streams) that you wouldn’t want your grandmother to hear?
3. If you don’t want your message broadcast to people all over the world, check your privacy settings. And realize that even if you send something to friends or acquaintances, screen shot technologies give others the technology to capture what you say, indefinitely. Even if you cancel your account.

Lately it seems that some people, either momentarily or accidentally, are checking their common sense, not at the airline check in counter, but at the social media login screen.

The Tale of Two Jobs Lost

Like the Twitter user who accepted a job at Cisco, but tweeted she was less than enthusiastic about the prospects of her new employment. Someone at Cisco was listening and passed along the information to the hiring manager. Offer rescinded.

Or the Chamber Exec who tweeted from the official Batesville Chamber of Commerce Twitter account about his desire for Obama to fail. He resigned as reported here.

You may have already heard of another social media snafu about the PR executive who flew from Atlanta to Memphis to do social media consulting with Fed Ex employees and said less than favorable things about Memphis. If not, you can read about it here or here.

Bad News Spreads Like Wildfire
News of these kinds of mistakes travels quickly. Journalists and bloggers capitalize on the misfortunes of others. In many ways, it’s not unlike my almost-9-year-old step-daughter who used to delight in the misfortunes of her siblings, heralding their mistakes to make herself look/feel superior. Of course she never said, “I’m not as bad as my brother (or step-brother or step-sister)” but the implication was certainly hidden. Fortunately, she’s growing out of that stage. It’s not really enjoyable to be around her when she’s like that.

Nice, Smart Folks
I actually met Jonah a few years ago at an ACCE conference. He was working as the membership professional at the Fayetteville (AR) Chamber at the time. He had potential written all over him. We kept in touch and it wasn’t long before he received an offer and to take the helm of the Batesville Chamber.

I’ve never met Connor, but I’m very impressed with her response to the whole Cisco ordeal. I was impressed that she took full responsibility for the mistake and even made some interesting observations about the use of social media.

I didn’t find a response from Mr. Andrews. It might be out there somewhere, but at 4:35 a.m., I simply didn’t feel like digging any more. I’m guessing that if I ran into him at an upcoming social media event, he would have a great story to tell. And hopefully, he would be transparent enough to admit that like me, he doesn’t like the taste of crow.

Bottom Line
I’m really sorry that these two intelligent people with bright futures may now be facing some difficult consequences. (It’s possible that the third, Mr. Andrews, has actually gained a perfect example for future social media consulting.) I know, however, that these lessons will stick with them for a lifetime. They will be more thoughtful in their communications with others, both online and in person.

And I’ll just bet that there are some employers out there who are willing to take a chance on imperfect employees who are willing to try new technologies, make some mistakes along the way, and then learn from those mistakes. Let’s hope so, for all of our sakes.

What Say You?
When have you failed to use common sense? What lessons in communication have you learned the hard way? When have you tried new things and failed, only to have gained a valuable life-long lesson? And if you were an employer in a position to hire either of these folks, would you be willing to at least grant them an interview?