People who use abbreviations and slang on social networking sites are being warned that their poor use of grammar and spelling will remain on the web for prospective employers to see. Experts in communication are reminding users that employers can and do visit social media sites to view content before hiring a person.
Sites like Twitter and Facebook only allow a limited number of characters in a message, which results in the use of shortened words and the use of numbers rather than letters. Carrie Brown, who is a journalism professor and social media expert, studied a group of students to see how they were using Twitter. The results show that most of the students were using it to socialise with their friends. However, Brown reminds students that employers may view the sites before employing a student, and recommends they try to use correct grammar and spelling. All Tweets, which have been posted since the introduction of the site in 2006, have been stored in the digital archives of Library of Congress.
Communication assistant professor, Kris Markman says she has an understanding of why people abbreviate and replace words with numbers, as 140 characters are insufficient to converse. However, she says:
“The most important thing is nothing ever dies on the Internet. Once you put it out there it will be out there-forever and ever.”
This applies to all content on the web, with business websites attracting the focus of many visitors in order to increase sales. Content outsourcing to a reputable copywriting agency will guarantee perfect use of grammar, indicating professionalism and care.
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