Be True, Be You

Are you really you all of the time? Do you suffer from social schizophrenia? There are a lot of us that do, and we don’t even realize it. In the first part of Chapter Six, I realized just what social schizophrenia really was, and I definitely agree with it. Social schizophrenia is when you have different “personalities” in different circumstances. We are one person to those at work, one person with our friends, and one with our family. There could be numerous personalities. One example that was given in the textbook was about a former UNC turned NBA player named Tyler Hansbrough who had a video go viral. He was always intense, so when the video of him jumping off of the roof was no surprise really, yet his coach had to make a very hard, public choice on how he should handle it. Had it not been uploaded to social media, he wouldn’t have had to worry about it. It should be a lesson to all of us. If you don’t want it online and everyone to see it, then don’t do it.

                Businesses should also take this into account when wishing for customers to take to social media to promote their products. It can be a double edged sword. People’s opinions can be just as bad for a company as it can be good.  When you want a true review of your company or product, you have to be ready to get the complete and totally honest opinion.

Amazon has taken social media and is using it to make suggestions to people of what they may want. As a personal opinion, it’s sometimes a great idea, and sometimes, I just smack my head and think, “Whaaaaaaat?” Just because two people like the same product, definitely does not mean that they have any other preferences in common.

The main point that I've gotten from this chapter is be true to yourself, whether business or personal. It’s probably exhausting to live an online double life.