I recently read this and apologize because I can’t find the attribution.

“ For the first time, literally, substantial and rapidly growing numbers of people have choices. For the first time they will have to manage themselves and society is totally unprepared for it.”

Boy, how true. People can now publish. Their thoughts. Their inner thoughts. Their rants. Their desires. Pictures of themselves. And man, are they getting themselves in trouble.

We are seeing other things with this new freedom to publish.  The Egyptian uprising was organized via Twitter and Facebook. The two social platforms have also been huge organizational tools for the demonstrations in Syria, Tunisia and Libya.

People have also been using Twitter to break news, way before traditional media can even get a hint of the story. Natural disasters. Terrorist attacks. People who are on the scene become the first reporters.

And people publish about good service, bad service, bad products and good products. 99% of the rants, raves, and praises get no traction. Like a comment at a cocktail party, it floats into the air and goes away.

However, we must all remember that when you write your opinions on a social platform, you publish. Period. And your have lost control. Same goes for companies. When they publish, they lose control.

So, manage yourself. And ask yourself these questions. Is this comment the truth as I see it? Is it defendable? Do you have evidence?

When a comment takes on a life of its own, it grows from the comments of others. And those comments are often ill-informed and can take your comment somewhere you never intended.

To publish is a new responsibility. Be smart. Use it to your advantage.