Social Media Etiquette

CEBU, Philippines - Social media has been a personal and collective platform that serves numerous purposes. It helps in business promotions, entertainment and information purposes. On the other side, however, it’s also been an avenue for bullying, shaming, and exploitation.

As with actual communities, certain measures are necessary in order to maintain ‘peace and order’ in social media and to make it more likely for this digital communication platform to work for – and not against – its users. There has got to be a code of conduct in place to ensure peaceful coexistence among social media users.

The website www.moneycrashers.com proposes the following etiquette points to be observed when engaging in social media:

? Don’t mix business and pleasure. If your job requires you to maintain a social media account with your name on it, don’t use it to talk about where you’re going clubbing tonight, or to share photos of your new puppy. Keep a separate account for your personal life. Keep in mind that your professional concerns should always outweigh your personal ones.

? Use caution in posting and tagging photos. If you’re posting a group photo, ask permission before tagging your friends, or post the photo with the caption “Tag yourself” to encourage others to take the initiative. Also, make sure your profile pictures, especially on business-focused social sites such as LinkedIn, are professional looking.

? Keep self-centeredness to a minimum. No matter how try to be modest, your social media presence could be viewed in a completely different light. Before you post, tweet, or share anything, think about how others might interpret it – whether it will be perceived as insightful and informative, or crass and boring.

? Understand that your sense of humor isn’t universal. Unless you’re sending a private message, your social media posts reach well beyond your friends and family members. What flies in the locker room or frat house might not be kosher in a setting where people from different backgrounds congregate. This doesn’t mean you can’t use well-placed humor in your posts – just make sure it’s appropriate.

? Don’t be too reactive. Celebrity Twitter wars are fun to watch, but you must avoid getting sucked into your own social media arguments. From behind the slight screen of anonymity in social meida, a fight’s consequences seem less immediate, and many people are willing to go toe-to-toe online in ways they’d never do face-to-face. If you hash things out on social media, your words and actions can be saved and dredged up down the line.

? Avoid over-sharing. Your social media feeds shouldn’t read like an inner monologue. Occasionally sharing what your cat’s up to or how awesome dinner was last night is fine. But over-sharing – as in posting your cereal choice every morning – is the quickest way to bore your friends and followers. Even if you don’t use your accounts for professional purposes, your social presence is just a big part of your personal brand. You want your brand to be interesting, engaging, and representative of your best characteristics. You don’t want to dilute it with scads of irrelevant posts.

? Build a legacy for the future. It’s standard for employers and educational institutions to check candidates’ social media activity before granting an interview or accepting an application. So be sure that your accounts don’t jeopardize your chances. Ramp up the privacy settings on your personal accounts, so your posts aren’t visible to non-contacts. Remove and un-tag morally or legally questionable photos. Find and delete any disparaging comments you’ve made about previous employers or colleagues.

? Don’t misrepresent yourself. Dishonesty can have serious personal and professional consequences, even on social media. It might feel easy to misrepresent yourself when you’re hiding behind a screen, but even a seemingly innocent embellishment on your LinkedIn profile, such as inventing a more impressive title at a previous job, could get you canned. Using social media to take credit for the achievements of your coworkers is also a no-no.

? Don’t drink and tweet. If you’re impaired in any way – lack of sleep, jet lag, or one too many drinks – you’re more likely to break the rules of social media etiquette. If you’d feel unsafe behind the wheel, wait to engage online until you’re in a better frame of mind. Similarly, if your first instinct after a hard day at work or a fight with your partner is to vent digitally, resist the temptation. You’re liable to say something that could damage your personal or professional reputation.

? Understand each platform’s best practices. Some social media etiquette principles are broadly applicable, and many are extensions of offline courtesy. Before you become an active user of a new social media platform, read up on its best practices. And since these practices can change as new features emerge, study up each month to stay current.

While a post may not get thousands of ‘likes’ and reactions, for sure it is seen by many. Therefore, it is important to be mindful of the possible effects of what one posts online. It is possible for a post to destroy other people, or even the one who makes the post – in a matter of seconds. Je C. Ycong (FREEMAN)