Posts Tagged ‘twitter’
Is it the Real You online?
I received one of the best compliments the other day. It came from a friend and fellow Virtual Assistant (VA), Tracey D’Averio, with whom I had originally connected online through the VAnetworking forum and Twitter.
We had the opportunity to meet in person after 8 months when we both attended a conference this past June and roomed together with another VA. In August, my family and I were on vacation in Ontario and Tracey and I got together for a visit. It was here that she passed on the compliment. A simple offhanded statement, but meant a lot to me.
The compliment? She told me that I am “exactly the same person online as I am in person“.
Why am I honoured by her compliment? As someone who works virtually with most clients I know one of the most important aspects of my success is my ability to project my true self to my clients and other colleagues. We rarely get to meet in person so this feeling is vital to having good virtual relationships.
My business is ‘me’ and being real and authentic will ensure others can ‘see’ who I am even if we never meet in person. I try to make it work just as it would if we were working ‘live’.
The fact that Tracey told me she felt I was the ‘real me’ reassured me that indeed the person I project online is me. I hope to keep it this way to continue with my virtual success.
How can you make sure that you remain real? Simple, act exactly as you would if everyone you encounter were standing right there in front of you and could see every action you make along with hearing every word you say. Authenticity and Transparency…that’s all it is.
Brad Paisley (sorry, I’m a country fan) has a song ‘Online‘ – great song and video but don’t follow this example, being better online won’t help you in the end. Be real.



