My Daily Pause

How you present yourself online can last for a looooong time!

Social media is becoming so ubiquitous in our day to day that it is no longer wise to go head first into it without a few ground rules.

One thing to remember as free users of the social sites: we are the product being packaged and sold. We are not the site’s customer. As one who promotes a blog and Facebook page for daily Bible reading, I can tell you first hand that they are doing everything they can for me. I occasionally spend a few dollars to get just the right audience to pitch my page. That makes businesses and others like me the customer.

For those of us that are trying to live a Christian lifestyle (or may want to in the future,) it is vitally important to control what we post about ourselves on the Internet. Once it is out there, it is out there forever. Since we are the product, the effect is compounded because our data is being actively collected and indexed.

We need some ground rules for posting. We need to discipline ourselves and teach our children how to protect ourselves. This involves our reputations, trust and credibility for the rest of our lives.

Anyone that doesn’t believe this is true can just look at any election cycle. Remember all those candidates that had to drop out because of indiscretions that happened years ago? There were some great people among them that just couldn’t overcome the stigma of their sins.

What Would Jesus Post addresses these concerns. In seven essays, Brian D. Wassom lays out with Biblical principles how to act when we are online. In reality, these principles apply to how we act in any venue, not just social media. Since this book is easily read in one sitting, one could conceivably put these principles into action tonight.

I will not be recommending this book to anyone though. Ironically, in the chapter called Don’t Be A Stumbling Block, the author actually breaks his own rule. He tells us that the Bible teaches us that it is okay to drink alcohol socially, and then goes into all the reasons he hides the fact that he does. These are the exact reasons the Bible teaches us that intoxicating beverages should not be consumed. I do not want others to think I believe otherwise by endorsing this book.

That chapter aside, the rest of the book holds up as a good baseline for how to present ourselves via social media. Especially the idea of being true to yourself, and not trying to be someone you are not.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLook Bloggers <http://booklookbloggers.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”