How To Repair a Social Media Slip Up

    

 I have written a lot of blog posts about social media and how to positively navigate it, but what happens when you do have a slip up? Patricia Crawford from California knows what that is like. 

    First of all, who exactly is Patricia Crawford? Patricia Crawford is a former guidance counselor at Rubidoux High School. Crawford was fired for her offensive, racist and politically incorrect comments on a co-worker's Facebook post. It was enough to make her entire community uncomfortable, especially since she was a guidance counselor, a job that has no room for racial bias. Crawford was then assigned a court date and terminated from her job.

 Moving forward, how should one go about fixing a slip up like this? It's difficult to do so, especially when a quick Google search on Crawford's name now reveals her racial biases. 

    Let's take Patricia Crawford's case for example and use the tips provided by Josh Ochs' "Light, Bright & Polite" to see how she could go about fixing her situation. In chapter four, he states to be authentic and professional. This is something that Crawford failed to do. Authentic, maybe. Professional? Not at all. Because her job leaves no room for racial bias, the next best thing she can do from here is take a diversity course that will help educate her. Afterwards, she should issue an authentic and professional public apology. People make mistakes all the time, it's important to learn from them and correct it. People are more accepting when you own up to your wrong actions rather than defending it. The same thing goes for jobs. If employers see that you are willing to admit when you are wrong and willing to rectify the problem, they are more likely to consider you for the job after seeing the negative Google search results. Additionally, those who wrote about the viral comment are more likely to follow up with an article discussing how you fixed the issue. 

    Now that the problem has been addressed, it is time to start building a better reputation. This can be done through social networking sites such as LinkedIn, Google Plus and even a personal website. On LinkedIn, try to include successful projects that you have worked on. The first line of the project should include the business/organization's achievements. Below it should be a quote discussing your performance from the employer. Having others vouch for you is a good way to fix your reputation. Next, Google Plus is a great place to start when needing to fix your online reputation. Google Plus is owned by Google, so when employers search your name, your Google Plus profile will be the first to appear. You can modify the profile to suit your digital identity as well as link it to your other social media platforms, allowing the search to show more relevant results that you have control over. Finally, having a personal website helps as you can include whatever you think best fits; social media links, project updates, a resume and more. With time, your online reputation should slowly repair itself. Just be sure to show your employers that you are open to growth, change and compassion.