Five Simple Rules for Controlling Your Office Radio...and Social Media

A recent Inc.com article by Matt Hendrickson, The 50 Songs (and Albums) to Listen to at Work, caught my eye this week as I scrolled through the usual jungle of RSS feeds. We keep a lively office here at InkHouse, and that liveliness is reflected in the somewhat eclectic mix of music that streams over our office speaker system. Thanks to Sonos, we all have access and can put on any Pandora or MOG station/track that suits our fancy. It strikes me that this system makes our music process quite similar to social media, in that it is a form of publicly broadcasting a somewhat personal statement. And it turns out that the unofficial guidelines we have developed here to keep this system working translate well into guidelines for social media activities.

Collaboration – coupled with patience – produces some pretty cool results.

If it’s true that variety is the spice of life, by music standards our office is pretty piquant. In the interest of full disclosure, we do have the occasional sound squabble or retreat to personal headphones (more on that below), but generally this system results in a diverse mix of genres that reflects individual tastes and seems to suit the office as a whole. Whether through a blog or a speaker system, combining multiple perspectives into a unified channel produces a dynamic and multi-faceted content stream.

Respect refusals.

When someone really sets their foot down and says “no” – whether to a song, tweeting about their personal life, a blog topic, or a broader social media strategy – respect it. Assuming that this person is reasonable and professional, they probably are not refusing to cooperate just to be difficult. Even if you personally can’t understand why someone has such completely different taste than you, recognize that their opinion is legitimate, and agree to try a different approach instead. We’re all fans of social media here at InkHouse, but it is important to accommodate different comfort levels. (In the case of office music – well, you can always blast Toots & the Maytals on the weekend. No need to make your coworker froth at the mouth in auditory distress.)

Deliver what you promise.

If my coworkers agree to listen to rock music for the afternoon, we listen to rock music – not show tunes. Similarly, if you advertise that your blog focuses on the digital advertising industry, don’t suddenly start posting about kittens or state elections. If you promise one thing, and deliver another, your credibility goes out the window while your brand goes down the drain. No one likes a bait and switch.

Some things are never appropriate for the office. 

The following series of questions should help determine if a song is appropriate for office listening, and could just as easily be applied to any potential social media statement. Whether you are showing off Spotify to your boss or composing a Tweet, ask yourself the following:

1. Would any specific demographic group (racial/religious/ethnic/gender/sexuality/etc.) be insulted or made uncomfortable by it? Possibly? Check yourself before you wreck yourself, and your reputation.
2. Does it discuss in detail any activity best left behind closed boudoir doors? Mmm hmm? Save it for the bedroom, not the boardroom.
3. Would you be embarrassed if your grandmother heard you say/sing this? Indeed? Mind your manners – if you don’t have something appropriate to say, don’t say anything at all.

When in doubt, please refrain from broadcasting your song choice, tweet, Facebook post, etc.

Sometimes, silence is golden.

As Hendrickson puts it, “Music in the workplace equals happy time.” But once in a while, nothing beats a little peace and quiet. Just so with social media – it’s important to actively engage and add meaningful contributions to discussions, but every now and then a situation arises when it’s better to just keep your social mouth shut (see our post Should You Go Negative?).