The virtual side of individual worth centers on that fact that now we all have “movie star” exposure. We can be represented accurately or inaccurately at the touch in one-click moments.

A picture may be worth a thousand words but internet text now rules more than we may like.  One ill-advised comment may become the next “shot heard ’round the world” or worse around and around in a never ending cycle.  That is not to suggest that a youtube video or Facebook picture is not subject to the same fate but we tend to think of text as harmless or less obtrusive.  Rethink as we apply virtual exposure to both media.

What appears online seems spiffy and cool.  Let’s take Facebook for example.  One fills in text into well-ordered boxes and part of a planned graphic that includes the font used for the text we submit.  Virtually, we look great and if we are smart, type out our entries in a word-processing program to proof  BEFORE submitting them online.  We look great, “smell,” great and supposedly are now “great.”

However, what used to be the marketing department’s function in  a company is now ours and ours alone as each of us establishes an online presence that is part of our work and our life.  We now need marketing and communication basics in a way we’ve never needed them before, even down to practicing the protocols of the online handshake and eye contact that person to person encounters have held as the standard in human first connections.  Now, however, most of us connect online  far more frequently, more specifically, and can come off as the dreaded “wimp,” “sweaty palms,” “dead fish,” or “crusher” virtual handshake and never know it unless someone is brave enough to mentor us.  Again remember the endless cycle for these virtual missteps.  How many times has anyone told you the status of your physical, face to face handshake?  Right.  They just mentally recoil and let you go on and on making the same negative impression.  Multiply that error by the number of times you “meet” someone online.

The virtual presence faux pas happen too fast, too often, and last too long to be caught. What has been done is done.  Now it is time to look at our worth marketing plan and understand others’ may be as misleading as ours has been.  Do over’s don’t correct what is already “out there” but we can start using better communication from now on to combat former misrepresentations of who we are and what worth we have to offer.

The internet is not new any more. It is time to become a pro and develop discernment from a less fleshly more wisdom-focused perspective.  All is not as it seems on the internet just like all is not as it seems on a phtoshopped photo. Reading between the virtual  icons that make everyone appear “cool,” photos that may create a “halo” effect that encourages hasty decisions (don’t get me started on online dating services), and  well-stated or poorly stated text is more and more arduous yet more and more necessary.

Bottom Line: Assessing individual worth from a totally virtual encounter is dangerous and fraught with pitfalls. The strongest, most reliable connection to worthy relationships is the face-to-face encounter over a period of time.  If you re hiring, dating, or creating a “life” first and solely on the internet, you may be accepting a skewed version of what you may later come to realize is not the best choice for an employee, partner, or spouse. Or, you may miss out on the best employee, partner, or spouse by deciding the virtual presence was flawed even though accompanying credentials said worthy. The flip side is to ask yourself what worth are you promoting, virtually speaking?