Igniyte’s top tips for avoiding social media pitfalls

Following a high-profile social media storm around Barrister Charlotte Proudman and her decision to ‘out’ solicitor Andrew Carter-Silk after he messaged her to say her LinkedIn profile picture was “stunning”; Igniyte was asked to comment for the Evening Standard.

Esteemed solicitor Carter-Silk messaged Proudman through LinkedIn to say that her profile picture was “stunning” and that she should win an award for “the best LinkedIn picture” he’d ever seen. Proudman responded to tell him his message was “unacceptable and misogynist” and proceeded to post the exchange on Twitter for all to see.

Both Proudman and Carter-Silk have come under fire for their actions, with many agreeing that it was inappropriate for 57-year-old Carter-Silk to message Proudman, 27, on LinkedIn about her appearance when it’s a professional platform. But more so, Proudman has been scrutinised over her decision to publicly shame Carter-Silk – putting his personal and professional reputation at risk – over what most agree was a fairly tame and inoffensive message.

Having sent the message on a professional social networking site – which many use for career purposes – Carter-Silk potentially opened up his employer to reputation risk. Whilst many employers implement social media best practice for their workers; perhaps they forget the risk that those higher up – the CEOs and Executives – pose by being on social media.

With the debate over who was right and who was wrong raging across the media; Igniyte was asked by the Evening Standard to give their top tips for avoiding social media pitfalls.

Take a look at the article here, and get in touch if you’d like any further information on what you should be telling your employees about using social media to avoid putting your company’s reputation at risk.