Unless you say you're Tony Hayward, there is no "I" in "social media."

Not knowing who "I" or "me" is in a social media message is confusing. It's also a sign of a poorly managed brand.Sometimes I hate the word "I." (And when I say "I," I mean "Tristan S.")

Sure, social media is a relatively new phenomenon. Sure, many organizations are still getting the hang of it and still farm it out to low-level staff and interns.

But no matter who's in charge of an organization's Facebook, Twitter, or blog, there is no reason to use a company or non-profit social-media presence for your own personal messages - unless you tell people who you are up front.

DON'T use your organization's Facebook page for personal status updates

I "like" many animal-welfare organizations on Facebook and receive their status updates in my news feed daily. They're typically centered around an animal or organization's needs. But today I read this nugget of worthlessness on a page that doesn't divulge who's writing the status updates in the first place:

Good morning, (project name) supporters! From time to time, even those of us who channel pets' voices for a living have to go on vacation. BUT... of course, the (project name)'s bench of kitteh-and-goggie (sic) channelers is very very deep, and our star pinch hitter will be with you! Be nice to her, enjoy the wonderful pets she gives voice to, and I'll see you in two weeks!

Besides the spelling (no excuse for this faux pas in a multi-million-dollar campaign), whomever wrote this lost sight of several things: A) We don't know who the "I" in this update is. B) We don't know who the "star pinch hitter" is. C) This Facebook page has been written on behalf of the animals for quite some time, with no "I" other than the animals. D) Because of A, B and C, we don't care who the human "I" is, who's going on vacation, and who's not.

If the person who manages this Facebook page ever told us who "I" is, either in the Info section or the sidebar, perhaps we'd care about them. But since they didn't, and we don't, the above status update just adds noise to their communication channel and increases the chances of confusion or being "un-liked." (And for all we care, their vacation can be on the oily beaches of the Gulf.)

DON'T use your organization's Twitter account for personal tweets

I've followed many branded Twitter accounts which include the brand's general information in the Bio section, but the accounts were used for personal tweets and pictures. And I've unfollowed just as many Twitter accounts.

If you're in charge of a company, non-profit or other account and your duty is to represent that brand in social media, do it. Have conversations with your supporters and detractors, be helpful, and occasionally post news and updates worth sharing with the world. But do not use a brand-centered Twitter account for your own personal tweets.

I'll use BP and their CEO, Tony Hayward, as a fictional-example-with-real-people scenario. As much as I despise what that company's done/not done, they're now managing their official Twitter account quite well (a heckuva lot better than they're managing the oil leak.) And please, momentarily ignore the fact that a satirical "BP Public Relations" Twitter account was set up and continues to amuse.

BP's official Twitter account shares news and directly communicates with people online. Whomever manages the account does it anonymously - that is, they don't tell us who they are, but it doesn't matter, because they're representing the company and not themselves.

If Tony Hayward had control of the official BP Twitter account (though he doesn't have control of hardly anything) and didn't tell us in the Bio section or anywhere else that this was the case, and he tweeted "Whoever passed me this raging headache, please die," that wouldn't help the company's matters much, would it? (Note: that was an actual tweet from a Twitter account representing a local group. The account doesn't have any one person's info in the bio - so we don't know who had the "raging headache" - and because of that, we don't care.)

Additionally, if you're using your brand's Twitter account professionally, without telling your audience who you are, your personal photo should not be your brand's profile image.

DO tell your audience who you are if applicable

If you HAVE to use the word "I", remember the word "you" and target your messages and bio info to your audience. In BP's case, as long as they're giving good content and being quasi-helpful, their audience doesn't care if they're hearing from BP the organization, Tony Hayward the CEO, or Joe Schmoe the new intern. As long as you let everyone know up front that you personally represent an organization BEFORE you use the word "I" in social media, there will be no confusion.

Local business Scotty's Brewhouse owner Scott Wise (@brewhouse on Twitter) does this well. Aside from his small social-media army (which represents his business quite effectively), he has his own personal Twitter account. He writes on behalf of his company. He writes on behalf of himself, often about silly or ridiculous things in life. And he uses his own image on the account. This is all okay. Actually, it's great: he's built an impressive following because he's forthcoming, transparent and honest about who he is, with none of the first two problems highlighted in this post. (Plus, his restaurants offer good food and awesome beer. But that's perhaps a topic for a future post.)

Note: I understand that social-media, especially Facebook, is part of a more casual conversation. But being careless as in the above examples reflects poorly upon the account holder, and no one who cares about their job or the group they're representing wants to do a crappy job.