Etiquette for Social Network Sites

Social networking sites offer you the ability to meet people you might not otherwise meet. They offer easy access to potential professional and personal interaction, even when you're not at your computer. So much potential can be overwhelming, but it doesn't have to be. Use the same social rules you use in real life when you're online, and you run much less risk of a social networking faux pas.

What's Posted Online Stays Online

One important thing to keep in mind with any social networking site is that if you post it on the Internet at any time, it can come back to haunt you later --- even if you delete it. Sites like the Internet Archive Wayback Machine keep cached archives of webpages of all types, long after the actual webpage no longer exists. A good rule of thumb is to never post something that you'd mind someone --- friends, family, or future employers --- seeing years later. Employers increasingly Google applicants; you don't want photos of that one infamous party ten years ago standing between you and your dream job.

Delineate Roles

With so many social networking sites to choose from, you can quickly become overwhelmed trying to keep everything in order. One way to do this is to keep separate networks for personal and professional pursuits. Some sites, like Facebook, allow you to filter who sees what content, such as photo albums. You can effectively create personal and professional filters with a single account on Facebook this way. For example, your friends and family may want to see pictures of your dog's birthday party, but the president of your company may feel differently. Use your best judgment to weigh each individual situation as it comes.

Be Polite and Prudent

It's easy to feel insulated from real life when using social networking sites. People say things and behave in ways they might never in real life. However, as in real life, it's a good idea to treat other people the way you'd like to be treated. Don't start heated arguments, or spam people with repeated invitations to join your community or event or to subscribe to your service. Since the point of social networking sites is, in part, to meet new people, introduce yourself when reaching out to someone you don't already know in real life. Explain briefly why you'd like to be in that person's network. That way, it doesn't look like you're simply looking to get as many new friends or contacts as possible.

Saying No

Saying no is hard enough in real life, but it can be difficult online as well. Occasionally, old girlfriends or boyfriends or even elementary school friends may find you on a social networking site. If you don't want to be friends on the site, either ignore their request or politely explain your reason to that person. If you keep separate social networking sites for business and pleasure, and a business contact tries to friend your personal site, direct it toward your business site instead.

References

• Techipedia; The Ultimate Social Media Etiquette Handbook; Tamar Weinberg; December 2008
• Forbes.com; Are You Practicing Proper Social Networking Etiquette?; Knowledge@Wharton; October 2009
• "PC World"; The Etiquette of Social Networking; Dan Tynan; September 2008
• AMedNews.com; Social Networking Etiquette: Making Virtual Acquaintances; Pamela Lewis Dolan; June 2008

Resources

• Internet Archive Wayback Machine
• "The Sunday Times"; Etiquette Pitfalls in the Social Web of Wannabe Friends; Jack Malvern; July 2007