There are two key factors that drive our social media choices, according to new work by researchers Ariane Ollier-Malaterre, Nancy Rothbard, and Justin Berg. One is our boundary preferences: are we integrators or segmentors? If you’re an integrator, you like to build bridges between your professional and personal lives. Integrators strive to blend their jobs with their lives outside work—they’re eager to talk about their kids at work, don’t mind bringing their work home, and happy to share the same information with colleagues as family and friends.

If you’re a segmentor, you like to keep your professional and personal lives separate. Segmentors create mental fences between their jobs and other aspects of their lives. On social media, this might mean using privacy controls, making your profile unsearchable, or segmenting your network by using LinkedIn for professional contacts and Facebook for personal contacts.

The other factor is how we want to be seen by others: are we aiming to impress or express? Impressers see social media as a vehicle for looking good—they want to build a positive reputation and attract a strong base of followers. As the researchers write, impressers aim to “disclose information that is flattering (e.g. achievements, good picture), glamorous (e.g. travel observations and pictures) or makes one look smart (e.g. interesting news articles).” They also avoid controversial posts and carefully control and monitor photos, tags, and comments.

For expressers, social media isn’t about winning others over; it’s an opportunity to be seen accurately by others. This means being more open online: sharing vulnerabilities, disclosing unpopular opinions, writing about stressful experiences, or posting photos that might not appeal to everyone.

If you express yourself you might end up like NWA:

"I'm expressing with my full capabilities... Now I'm living in correctional facilities..."

In other words, don't put it online if you don't want the whole world to see it.

NWA pretty much sums up my approach to social media:

Read Adam Grant's article:

http://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20130910142101-69244073-why-some-people-have-no-boundaries-online