As time has gone by I've grown sceptical of the value of social media in the everyday world.
Maybe it's the increasing presence of advertising and sponsored posts, maybe it's the curious decision of LinkedIn to tell me it's somebody's birthday/social event, or maybe it's Facebook friends writing in detail about vomiting episodes - I'm struggling to see value.
Over the summer I commenced a tactical withdrawal from Facebook and my productivity and time on the mountain bike have improved materially.
I also made a judgment call that there is more value in getting out and talking with people face to face - and if you add a nice Shiraz to the equation it becomes all the more enjoyable.
I will, however, continue to update the Balance Group and Balance Marketing and Design pages.
One thing you can rely on is that my posts, particularly on the business' Facebook pages, will be fact based.
The major concern I have about social media is the volume and prevalence of information which ranges from slightly exaggerated to complete and unadulterated bovine scatology.
Indeed, "news" sites pedalling misinformation and partisan views are replacing mainstream media as sources where people get "informed" and establish their world view.
And this presents a unique challenge for businesses, particularly when something incorrect is said about you, your products or services - let alone when the leader of the free world might take a swing at a brand while doing whatever he does at 3am.
Once posted it is out there - forever. And you may not even know that the comment or criticism is there until it is too late.
Even photos - "which say 1000 words" - are open to interpretation and "photo-shopping" - office parties and the things which happened (and stayed) on tour in the past could find their way into the open.
The speed with which information travels and the ability to access millions of consumers quickly has enormous potential - both to build and to harm. It is also a hallmark of how the world may operate going forward.
So, what can you do? The first step is to educate yourself about the various social media forms and determine a policy for your business. Sure, have a Facebook page, but have someone moderate it and keep the content up to date and "clean".
You will have firewalls and mechanisms which keep your website and other portals secure, and have a point of view or policy when it comes to reputation and your brand.
Should an event occur which is damaging, know what you should do. Reputation management policies are becoming more prevalent - a 2014 survey showed that reputational risk - particularly in an age of disruption - is the top strategic risk for boards and directors.
Given that it is increasingly difficult to separate fact from fake, the odds of your business or organisation being subject to a brand attack is something to think about.
*Balance Consulting is a Whanganui consultancy specialising in business strategy, process excellence and leadership mentoring - contact Russell Bell on 021 2442421 or John Taylor on 027 4995872