Yes, You Fucker, You're a Brand Representative

Holy fuck that was a moment

So, as most of you know, I’m a longtime Twitter user.

And I confess, I’m fucking sweary there sometimes. Or ranty. Or ridiculous. It’s just part of me being…me. I guess. Mostly I try to be constructive about it, and behave like an adult even if there are some colorful words thrown in here and there.

Yesterday, I got an email from the fucking CEO of my $10B company with the subject line that simply said "Tweet”

My inner alarm bells started going off and I basically did a light-speed inner monologue that went sort of like

Holy fuck omg what did I post is that stupid coffee shop thing coming back to haunt me again that person did try to get me fired what the fuck why would the CEO fire me personally what did I say to get me in trouble am I about to get a call from HR god why do I even do social media can’t I learn to just keep my mouth shut I totally swear too much what the fuck do I do now I better get my resume together why didn’t my fucking boss give me a heads up is that the ulcer I feel flaring up I think I might vomit

And then I opened the email.

“Thought this was a really great tweet: 

Amber Naslund @AmberCadabra

My company has unlimited PTO, two full holiday shutdown weeks each year (and an extra this year bc Covid), half day Fridays this summer, monthly InDays for culture and community work, and a flexible work policy. We just crested $10B in revenue. Take care of your people.

Thank you for sharing.  Hope you are having a good week. - RR”

Archival footage of how I looked below:

He liked my LinkedIn post on the topic too.

So. Crisis averted, and I’m delighted, and also I guess now I really fucking need to be on my toes with my content because my CEO now knows who I am. Which brings me to the point of sharing this holy-fuck moment with you.

If you are online publicly, you are a representative of your brand.

Or your business. Or your community and constituency. People are paying attention. What you say has impact, for better and for worse. You don’t have to have any official role, the connection can be totally tacit, but it’s there.

I’m really proud to be an employee advocate for LinkedIn because I believe strongly in our platform, our leadership and the vision we have for empowering the world’s workforce.

I also always remember that with platform comes fucking responsibility. It’s why I get so mad about people wielding their influence or platform to harm other people. And also why I repeatedly tell people that the disclaimer in your fucking bio does not protect you from consequences of your online actions and if anything serves mostly to help your employer disavow responsibility for you if you act like a fucking asshole. I’ve made some ill-advised posts in the past that served as a sharp reminder of same.

So while on the one hand I’m touched that my CEO took a moment out of his day to tell me he appreciated my post, I’m also really fucking awake now and also appreciated the reinforcement that my presence online carries with it an invisible tether to my employer, my work, and my reputation in those contexts. Those things matter a great deal to me.

I’m still going to be me. I say fuck sometimes, it’s just part of my normal and authentic self. But I’m happy to have a nice nudge that it’s worth it to rise above the bullshit. To never get in the mud with the pigs, suffer trolls and bad actors, or be punitive or personal with criticism for the sake of a shitpost. To protect my reputation and my platform because I’ve worked hard to build both, and they can be gone in a fucking instant.

Fucking pay attention, okay? With great power and technology comes at least some fucking accountability for how you behave. Don’t be a dick. Don’t be a troll. Behave like a decent human being. And remember that somewhere, somehow, people are paying attention and learning about you, your company, your business or your character based on what you choose to say and how you treat other people.

I’m grateful that my upsides have been far greater than the downsides and mistakes, but I’m determined to keep it that way.

Now I’m off to put on clean underwear and take a fucking Xanax. Or something.

Fuck Yes Friday

Have you seen Snoop doing Olympics commentary? If not, you absolutely must. This banter between him and Kevin Hart on the dressage competition absolutely and totally murdered me.

Horse. Crip. Walking.

(It’s actually called a half pass, but I much prefer Snoop’s terminology and will be using it henceforth).

I confess that I have become a bit of a ridiculous fan of Snoop in all contexts other than music. His collab with Martha, his outrageous sports commentary, his ridiculous commercials. The man is fucking hilarious and we stan the bright spot in an otherwise terrifying and horrid year.

Come on, NBC. Can we have an alternate channel where all the commentary is from Snoop? Please? I’ll be a good girl.

Ok that’s a lie…but with my CEO watching now, I guess I’m going to give it at least a college try.

See you next week, rage monsters.

With love and angst,

Amber

PS - Ryan, if you’re reading this, sorry for all the swearing it’s kind of the theme of the newsletter and I promise I don’t cuss out our clients or anything please don’t fire me ok but thanks for subscribing