Mixing personal and professional on social networks : Hot debate among attorneys and professionals

Yesterday I asked here on my blog, “Do attorneys want to separate personal from professional on social networks?”

My point was that though attorneys like to think it’s the proper thing to do – separating personal from professional – they may be limiting themselves from a business development standpoint. I shared a story of a Business Development Director in a large Northeast law firm who proudly said she does not separate her two lives. As a result she’s experienced good success in building relationships and developing business for her firm.

Understandably, not all attorneys are in support of my position not to separate the two. Upon my post being widely shared on Twitter, it’s been a mixed bag of responses.

• UK Mediator and Lawyer, Steven Mather, on Twitter: “cannot separate who I am.”
• Portland IP and Technology Attorney, Anne Glazer, on Twitter: “Yes! Why I like Google+. Not all clients/prospects should know about my obsessions/politics. And I refuse to be muzzled.”
• Los Angeles area Attorney, Sean Cowdrey on Twitter: “Do we really want clients hearing about our religious/political thoughts or our kids’ school activities via FB? I don’t.”
• Winnipeg lawyer, Kent Fast, on Twitter: “I don’t like my professional life seeping into personal (eg fb) but my personal life seeping into professional shows I’m human.”

Discussion in the LinkedIn Legal Blogging Group, understandably brought longer responses.

• From Columbus Attorney, Jami Oliver: “Because we are in such a hand-on profession which brags about our attorney-client “relationship,” I have found that mixing personal and professional works quite well. While I do keep a professional page where I post product recalls, accomplishments, awards, published articles, it is also linked to my personal FB page for all to see. I think most people see right through the marketing stuff, so it works best for me to develop online relationships with people who get to know my moral and ethical personality. They learn to trust me and then are more willing to refer business to me later. I have lots of new clients through Facebook. I caution that I do not add current clients to Facebook for obvious reasons. However, if they were a FB friend before client, I find no problem with it. Once the case is over, I friend the client.”
• From Karl Hakkarainen, Owner and Principal Consultant at Queen Lake Consulting: “I think that it’s worthwhile to slide the dial toward the inclusion of some personal content. Showing how lawyers spend their unbillable hours can show some areas of interest and expertise that might not show up on a CV. For example, going to a club or concert hall to listen to music, hiking in an Audubon reservation, or coaching in a youth sports’ league can show civic engagement and an awareness of community issues. Using social media for business does go counter to our personal and business impulses. As a rule, most people want to keep their private lives private. A countervailing rule, however, is that most customers and clients want to have a sense of the person who is taking care of them. Social media activities are most effective when the reader has a sense that there is a human being on the other side of the screen.”
• From Georgia Appellate Attorney, Scott Key: “I tried separating the two completely because I have a criminal practice. The reality is that you can’t separate them really. And clients hire a person not a machine. I would echo Jami’s comment regarding accepting friend requests from current clients. I’ve made exceptions. So, to the extent that current Facebook friends might refer clients to me, I don’t make an effort to separate my personal and business self. Recently, I’ve started putting some family stuff or sports stuff out on Twitter. And I might have a little more fun with the blog by putting an occasional non-law post up.”

From Seattle lusiness lawyer, Joe Stansell: “If someone googles my name, the first three pages of hits is almost entirely about me — and most of that not necessarily dealing with the professional side of my life. I no longer have the luxury of separating the two, and instead have to openly embrace it. My hope is that I’ll wind up attracting more clients than I lose.”

• From Colorado Springs Paralegal, Regina Finstad: “I think that the answer is determined by each person’s specific situation. I am a paralegal operating virtually, which means my online presence is imperative to the success of my business. I spend a great deal of my time trying to grown my professional network. While it seems logical to integrate the two (professional and private) online, allowing my professional life to enter my private life through Facebook would change my use of Facebook. As a military wife, I use Facebook to stay intimately connected to people I care about. I post pictures of my children and engage in semi-political conversations on Facebook. If I were to allow professional contacts to connect with me here, I will undoubtedly change my use of Facebook. This might have the effect of isolating me, which is a problem that many military wives experience. You asked if keeping the two separated is in best business development interests. The answer for me is probably not; however, keeping them separated is in my best personal interest.”

What do you think? You can share your views on comments here, in the LinkedIn Legal Blogging Group, and on Google+.