Hey Pennies & Pens!

What is going on? Lately, I’ve been coming across posts where other bloggers, PR reps, etc discuss what one should and should not post on social media. The main advice that is constantly given is to “clean up one’s social media profiles” as prospective or current employers or clients could be watching. The consensus seems to be that one should not curse on social media or post any drunken or nude photos.

I agree with this advice for the most part but only depending on who you are and what you do. As you have probably have seen, I do in fact curse from time to time on this site and on my social media profiles. I will not be deleting any of those posts nor will I be stopping that. Why? Because my brand is all about being cutting edge, pushing the envelope, keeping it real. That means I say the things that no one else wants to say in the way that no one else wants to say them.

While there are many bloggers and social media influencers I admire, these are not the people I am aspiring to be. Remember my brand tagline is “The Jay Z of PR & Blogging.” I aspire to be more like the music/style/film/art icons of our generation than my social media peers. I have always joked that I wanted to be a “singing sensation” and a “dancing machine” but since I can’t sing or dance for real, I ended up just blogging about those who can. Lol!

But seriously, what I’m saying is I’m not apologizing for the brand that I’ve created or the things that I’ve posted. There’s a reason why my real name is not posted anywhere online. I briefly had it on my LinkedIn profile but removed it because I am keeping the brand separate from who I really am. The only time I allow people to know my real name is when we communicate via email, phone, or in person meaning they know me in “real life.” Even then, I ask these business contacts, friends, and family not to reveal my real name online because again I am protecting my brand and keeping it separate from who I really am. This way LoudPen can be as LOUD as she wants to be.

By now you may be thinking, but what about brands, advertisers, sponsors, or clients that may be looking to work with you, Pen? To that I say, these folks need to realize that everything I do is NOT and I repeat is NOT a reflection of them. To think that is not only proposturous but it’s a little self indulgent. The only thing that I do that is a reflection of them is when I actually work with them. For brands, sponsors, and advertisers it’s when I write about their product or service or promote them on social media. For clients, it can vary depending on the nature of our collaboration.

Basically, I’m saying this post is my “these thoughts and opinions are my own and don’t reflect those I work with” disclaimer statement that I’ve seen on social media profiles and blogs. If you take a good look at some of my previous product reviews or sponsored posts, you will see that I only used high quality photos and excellent spelling and grammar as to please the sponsor or advertiser and make them more appealing to readers. I do understand that some companies will still chose not to work with me because they just don’t want to be associated with me for whatever reason.

I’m totally okay with that because these people have never paid for my hosting, domain name, nor did they help me build a social media following, or write a single post. Plus if they are so conservative that they can’t handle a few here and there curse words or some semi racy photos in a Miley Cyrus post, then we probably shouldn’t be working together anyway because we’re clearly not on the same page.

In conclusion, no, I don’t censor myself on social media for the above reasons.

And there it is. de la Pen…All Pen Everything. 

P.S. For All Pen Everything…All the Time —Twitter: @LoudPen Foursquare: @LoudPen Instagram: @LoudPen  Tumblr: The Blogging PR Girl  Facebook: LoudPen.