Is Social Media Killing Confidentiality?

I'm still on vacation but had some down time and wanted to respond to as many people as I could, so here it goes:

Warren -I like keeping things business as well.

Laura - My sentiments exactly. We should just assume our clients will be reading our posts and comments and act accordingly.

Tom - I agree. I have friended a lot of agents and do hide the ones who only post "ads" or useless information. This is a turn off to me personally.

Tammy - Being general in your posts helps, no need to give any personal details.

Sylvia - Sounds like you have nothing to worry about.

A. Daniel -Fantastic list! We should all print this out and read it before making a post or comment.

Steven - You're right, it happens everywhere, especially in the office.

Mona - True, most of these agents won't be reading this. Some of these folks will just learn the hard way.

Patricia - Your very welcome.

Laurel - I suppose whether it's the law or not, keeping certain things private just makes good business practice.

Larry - Some a little too much.

Bill - I think it's a great idea to have more education about social media to all agents. It would probably be a good thing to add to new agent training as well so they learn the right way to do things before they start practicing.

Deborah - These people remind me of some kids I grew up with, always having to brag about something to make themselves look good. This is a turn off to me personally but some people do feel the need to do it. Sometimes I feel these people lack self-esteem or confidence and are looking for some type of approval from their peers.

Ellie - You simply rock! You and I think very similarly and I hope I get the chance to meet you in person one day. Hope all is well.

Valerie - You seem to have the right idea when it comes to properly using social media. Nice to hear you are a dog fan, so are we.

John and Kasey - As long as people ask for permission to post certain things, then I suppose I don't have a problem with it. I could see how posting this type of thing could be good for the buyers and agent provided the transaction is completed. Not my personal style, though.

David -Simple but good advice.

Steven - Thank you for your kind remarks. As long as clients are aware and approve, it's fair game and could be used effectively.

Geoff - Or in person, either.

Gail - I also see consumers post about their personal situation and I don't think they realize the damage they are doing to their cause.

Tim - That's a good way of looking at things.

Farooq -Sounds you like do a good job of training. I think that with the popularity of social media, even veterans are letting their guard down when it comes to protecting their clients.

Elizabeth - Thanks for commenting, how'd the discussion go?

Evelyn -  It's a matter of time before someone does get sued because of what they publish on SM.

Harrison -  I agree with Philip as well. I do believe the problem will get worse before it gets better though.

John -  Thanks for reading and commenting.

Reuben - Sounds like a great article, I will check it out.

Angela - I agree and prefer when people give value.

Lenn - Social media is a fantastic way to get your message out and some folks certainly do a better job than others.

Dimitri - I like the 80/20 rule and certainly nothing wrong with promoting your business as long as it's a tasteful and helpful post.

Betty -  It's this reason that employers are checking out future employees on line. 

Rene - I agree but I do see some of my friends post useless info and get a ton of comments. It's funny how sometimes the most mindless posts get people to respond while helpful and informative posts get little feedback.

Karen - It goes back to the old saying "if you don't have something nice to say...".

Mary - I think it's a good idea to talk to clients about their use as well so they don't reveal anything about their transaction that may end up hurting their cause.

Robert - Your very welcome. I wrote it so at least people would just think twice before posting something.

Graham -  I do appreciate the freedom we as agents have to communicate our message because some professionals are quite limited on what they can say in written communication. That being said, we need to remember that it's not a free for all either.

Nancy - Hopefully someone that read this will now think twice before making a careless statement.

Dave - Looking forward to reading it.

Virginia -  Wow, thank you so much for the compliment, that means a lot.

Jamie - You're right, common sense is all we need but many still lack it.

John - We give our buyers and sellers the same speech, but some still continue to post things about their personal housing situation on FB.

Brea Real Estate - I agree.

Gene - Facebook is actually a great tool is used properly. With so many people on it every day, many agents are seeing success there.

Kate - Simple but well said.

Rob - I am a big believer of not posting about pending deals. I simply see no benefit, but that's just my opinion.

Michael - I agree with you. Anyone involved in a real estate transaction should keep things confidential. It is in everyone's best interest.

Suzi - The whole transparency issues has come up quite a bit. Being transparent doesn't mean divulging confidential information.

Ron and Alexandra - Thank you for the comment and kind remarks. I'm hoping people read it and take it seriously.

Gwen - Taking just a few seconds to think about whether a post should be made or not could make all the difference in the world.

Steve - If people continue to make mistakes, I could see brokerages coming out with rules regarding social media at some point.

Brad -  You're right, we still need to be careful what we say in person as well, especially to other agents.

Lyn - I could argue each one of these statements, but the big picture point of the post was for agents to think twice before posting statements that may hurt their clients, or even themselves. Statements can be interpreted many ways, but at the end of the day, I don't see any benefit to posting such things.

David - Great quote.

Cynthia - I suppose the users are the ones to blame. Facebook is great and I can't fault the format as the agents are the ones causing the problem. I see the problem getting much worse before it gets better.

Jeremy - Thank you so much for reading and commenting.

Linda - I think this is a great point that people forget. Regardless of what you post, you should consider your brand and what you stand for before communicating.

Don - I see your point of view. In my market, having good relationships with other agents is important and has often saved or created deals. So we are "friends" with a lot of our peers. That being said, we never post or publish something that we think could be used against us by another local agent. We are extremely conservative on what we put out to the public understanding that our competitors are always watching.

Catherine - I think that's a great questions to ask yourself prior to posting anything.

Gab - Nice to see you here and we always appreciate your comments. It's amazing what other agents put out there isn't it?

Blake -  Some folks just operate without a filter on line, which is probably how they are in person as well.

Castelazo - Thank you for commenting.

Michele - Thank you so much.

Rhonda - Glad you enjoyed it.

Matt - I certainly wouldn't want something I wrote on line coming back to hurt one of my clients, so we err on the side of caution.

Paula - It happens with good agents every day and I think they just don't realize they are doing anything wrong.

Vicki - Hi Vicki, looks like it's the start of a great virtually friendship.

Liane - Could you imagine if a seller saw a post describing their personal situation? I sure wouldn't want to be the agent that has to deal with that.

Michael - It happens every day and some education is needed for everyone.

Melanie - I'm not saying we should reveal things in our posts, just make sure we aren't hurting our clients by doing so.

Debra - I'm even careful what I say in a comment here in AR.

Adan - Well said.

Robert - While I'm not an attorney, I would say you have the right to post something if instructed by a client to do so.

Krista - There certainly are codes written regarding confidentiality, but I think some updated coures on dealing with social media are in order and would make a huge difference.

Andrew -  Great point. Just because a client signs a disclosure doesn't make it a free for all. We should properly communicate our on line strategy with them so they know exactly what we will be doing. You can never go wrong being overly cautious.

Tatyana - I think people's posts and way they present themselves in all aspects, on line and in person, says alot about a person. Thank you so much for your comments.

Barbara - Thank you for reading and your comments are right on the money.

Benjamin - You are certainly correct. I would always use caution even in members only posts. Certain things simply should not be shared anywhere on line. Thanks for commenting.