Seven Facebook Updates You Should Never Make

It’s one thing to peruse Facebook for a few minutes at work every now and then. It’s another to use it as a way to communicate to the outside world how hungover, miserable, or bored you are during office hours. If your friend list contains one or two coworkers, those comments could ruin your status at the office. Here, seven off-limits updates. 

1) _____ wonders why everyone is so incompetent.
Chances are, a few of those “incompetent” people are on your friend list. And if you just finished working on a project with one of them, they might have an inkling you’re referring to them. Not only will this make for some awkward moments at work, but they could follow your lead and get back at you via Facebook ... and a raging Internet war could ensue for all of your co-workers to see.

2) _____ is still waiting for my car service to the airport! So glad I have my new iPhone and that my meeting with the CEO isn’t until four. If anyone else is in L.A., email me and we’ll meet at the Ivy for lunch tomorrow!
These kind of updates just make you look smug, self-absorbed, and like you have delusions of being a celebrity. It’s great if you have a fabulous job where you get to travel, get chauffeured around in fancy cars, and take meetings with bigwigs. But it’s a lot cooler if you don’t broadcast it. (Although, please post if you do happen to have any good celeb sightings while you’re lunching in La-La Land.) In fact, it’s so obnoxious, one anonymous blogger started Facebragthis.com, a site dedicated to cringe-worthy clue-ins.

3) _____ wishes her boss would go on vacation with no Blackberry reception.
While you may secretly wish this (and spend half your day trying to send telepathic messages that she should book a one-way ticket to Antarctica), it just makes you look unprofessional and immature. Sounds like you could really use a break from technology after posting this one!

4) _____ is contemplating calling out sick tomorrow. “Sniffle Sniffle.”
The only reason you should be taking a sick day after writing this one is to regain some lost brain cells. While your best friend may find this hysterical, remember that this will show up in your colleagues News Feed, too, and it will spread like wildfire that you’re scheming to play hooky. Unless you find the time to craft some Ferris Bueller-style decoys, you’re in trouble. And if you’re actually sick one day in the future, no one will believe you. Haven’t you heard that old wives tale, “The Account Executive Who Cried Wolf”?

5) _____ is sneaking out for the Marc Jacobs sample sale! Meet me there!
You may be known as the office fashionista, but save your sample-sale shout-outs for the weekend or your lunch hour.

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03.08.2010
KMOM 14
These are good to practice whether you are at work - be careful what you put out on a social networking site as it could end up being used against you at later date. I have seen articles where people have whined at being fired after bashing their employer and/or clientele or their own unethical practices while at work on social networking site because someone they have "friended" on the site cuts, pastes and forwards it on to others. As most employers have it in their fine print that they monitor all internet and phone usage (most employ a software program that identifies anomalies) it is never a good idea to use business computers for personal use - it can be stored on backup tapes or systems indefinitely. At my former employer several people over time were terminated and others issued write ups and warning for inappropriate use or excessive personal use of business resources.
01.19.2010
Joan Z.
Excellent! I made it a rule from the beginning not to mix the two and I've never been sorry.
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