One thing that occurred to me reading this was that a somewhat effective (not 100% effective) way of “guarding” one’s status would be to solicit for help / advice in private rather than in pubic. Obviously you can’t guarantee that people will not disclose things, but if you are in a position like the CEO in your example, you could take measures to encourage your employees not to share the contents of confidential discussions and so forth.
Of course, this has costs and benefits as well: it is much easier to make one post on a public blog than it is to private message everyone on your Facebook. If you’re concerned about maintaining your status, it might be worth considering. For example, for someone with high status and a relatively “forgivable” question (difficult, not obvious) just posting it in public is probably better than going through the hassle to make the inquiry private; for someone with low status asking a less “forgivable” question (“He really should know better, did this guy not listen to what the prof said in lecture?”), the extra effort might well be worth it.
One thing that occurred to me reading this was that a somewhat effective (not 100% effective) way of “guarding” one’s status would be to solicit for help / advice in private rather than in pubic. Obviously you can’t guarantee that people will not disclose things, but if you are in a position like the CEO in your example, you could take measures to encourage your employees not to share the contents of confidential discussions and so forth.
Of course, this has costs and benefits as well: it is much easier to make one post on a public blog than it is to private message everyone on your Facebook. If you’re concerned about maintaining your status, it might be worth considering. For example, for someone with high status and a relatively “forgivable” question (difficult, not obvious) just posting it in public is probably better than going through the hassle to make the inquiry private; for someone with low status asking a less “forgivable” question (“He really should know better, did this guy not listen to what the prof said in lecture?”), the extra effort might well be worth it.