Back in August, I shared a post about the end of Project : Social HR — and committed to one post monthly about Social Media on this blog.

Welp. This is that post.

One of the biggest fears people have about engaging in social media and social networking is all the snarky and negative comments other people might make. No one wants to post something only to have it attacked and berated and criticized by strangers. The seeming anonymity of online profiles makes it easy for some people to express their dislike, disagreement and disgust about topics without thought or hesitation.  It seems some people make it a point and take great pleasure in courting and causing online controversy.

They are masters at putting people on blast.

Some people are turned off by this and limit their use of social media because of it. This makes the fog of mystery and misunderstanding around social networking even thicker. As a result, we all miss out on diverse and wise input from experienced and knowledgeable people in our industry.

Admittedly, I enjoy commiserating in some good venting, dissing and sarcasm on social media once in awhile … Ok. Almost daily. Nobody’s thoughts are happy all the time. One of the things I love most about my social networking journey is learning to appreciate the totality of people – and learning to enjoy engaging with people who don’t always think, like or do the same things as me.

So instead of being someone who just talks about the negative, we can become a “master blaster” of good things! Here are some easy examples anyone can try:

• Share it. Or ReTweet it or +1 it or whatever the term is for it on that particular social site. Use the sharing features to blast the things you find good and valuable
• Comment it. When you read or see something you like, leave a comment about how and why it was touching for you.
• Print it or email it. We all have family, friends and co-workers who are not at all involved in social media. Forward the good things to them – or print it for them to see!
• List it. Create lists of the people and groups you enjoy most so you can sure to keep up with the great content they share. Most social media sites allow you to feature your favorites so you can see them first or with ease.
• Join it. There are lots of great groups on Facebook, LinkedIn and other social media sites discussing and sharing about HR. Use them as a resource to help you learn new and strengthen your network.

Honestly though, after over a year in the game, I don’t find a lot of negative “master blasters” in the online HR community. I’ve actually found hundreds (if not thousands) of people who want to share information, knowledge, best practices and candidly discuss the conundrums we face in the world of work! Not just established HR bloggers, leaders and vendors – but innovative practitioners, “newbies” and other supporting characters in the circle of HR life. And we all agree that HR is awesome and we want it to continue to flourish and grow – and that is worth putting on blast!