I like to bust Doug Haslam of Topaz for his hyperactivity on Twitter (@DougH).  “How can a fella with almost 12,000 updates, #16 on the TweeterBoard Top 100, possibly find time to do justice to his clients?” 

Being the outrageously good-natured and justifiably confident man that he is, Doug laughs this off with quips such as, “Hold on… I’ll answer you after I finish clipping this latest hit I got for my client in U.S. News & World Report.”  Touche, Mr. Haslam! 

Clearly, Doug has found a “work/life/tweet balance” that works for him, his employer and his clients.  In the process, he’s absolutely augmented his personal brand in the Social Media realm, and that’s to everyone’s benefit.

Still, it’s a question that comes up: “How much tweeting (or other Social Media interaction) is ‘too much’ while on the clock?”

For me the answer comes down to prioritization and respect.  Your priority while on-the-job is to work through your client assignments in an efficient manner: quite simply, that’s what you’re paid to do. 

That does NOT mean “no tweeting til every box is checked-off” … If, in the course of those workaday duties, you can find time to throw off a few quips, questions, etc., go for it.  Just make sure your priorities are straight.  

No doubt it’s fun to tweet, scrabulize, and superpoke; it’s a good way to let off some quick steam.  And, strengthening your personal brand is great (and helpful to clients, in the long run), but, it simply cannot come at the expense of augmenting your client’s brand during the average day. 

On the “respect” side, I simply ask our in-house twitterati to be cognizant of the fact that many of their colleagues and clients are online, too.  They may not be active on Twitter, but often they have accounts; they’re “following” you. 

If your manager is waiting on a document from you before they can head home, or your client is anxious about the state of a pending editorial opportunity, they won’t be too pleased to see a spurt of carefree tweets flying through the twittersphere.  It shows a lack of awareness for a colleague’s priorities, thus, a lack of respect.  Ya need to find that fine line.  

Agree?  Disagree?  Do you struggle with the work/life/tweet balance?  I’m curious to hear your reactions!

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