Censorship?

I don't like being told what to do. Which is ironic, really, when you think about what I do for a living. I've never responded well to people telling me what to say, how to act, how to handle something (unless, of course, I ask their advice) (which is rare). I've been at this for 44 years, I know how it works.

So you can imagine my irritation when I got a criticizing message about something I wrote on a social networking site. My personal page of said site.

Social networking has come in to vogue in the business world of late, especially in the service industry. Fantastic. Great marketing tool. Reach millions of people. Blah blah blah. My own company is getting involved, being a service-oriented field. More and more of my coworkers are getting involved with some of these sites and linking up with clients and, well, not much more than that that could be construed as work-related, but whatever.

I, on the other hand, have been involved with one of the more well-known sites for a lot longer than the person who sent me the message a) has been employed with my company and b) started thinking about how beneficial these kinds of sites can be should one consider using one to assist in building their business. I use them for the social aspect. Not the work aspect. If it was my intention to use it for work I wouldn't have it hooked up to my personal email and I would assume I could actually get on the applications from work. But since I don't and I can't, it's pretty much all about me personally. I do not link to clients (I don't have any in my position for Pete's sake) and my profiles are private. So just because you can see it, because I am linked to you, doesn't mean you can suddenly make veiled criticisms about the way I use something that has nothing to do with my job (and while we're at it, don't try to tell me how to do my job either because I've been doing it since you were in high school) and that I've been using long before you people even knew it existed.

My message to you? Kiss my ass. Don't link to my profile, don't read my blog, don't try to get in where you are not asked your opinion, if you don't want to hear what's really on my mind. This is my shit, I don't do anything for your benefit, I am CERTAINly not here to please you, and if you're looking for some bullshit cleaned up pc display of phony business persona, you are looking in the wrong place.

And you might not want to approach me today. I'm in a shitty mood.