Don't Spam Your Friends (And Other Social Networking Etiquette)

There are etiquette rules to follow and, most important, faux pas to avoid with any type of social interaction. Although it's not "in person," these rules also apply to online social networking. So before you annoy, infuriate, or make yourself seem like a Luddite to everyone you know, brush up on your digital manners. Here are the top eight faux pas people are guilty of on Facebook and Twitter:

1. Writing something distasteful on a friend’s wall
Avoid writing something racist, rude, or offensive on your friend’s wall. Why? Not only will an unpleasant comment make you seem like a horrible person, it’ll reflect poorly on your friend. Avoid writing anything that makes you seem offensive, anything that might place your friend in hot water or anything that might offend someone reading the wall. Remember: Inside jokes are meant to be kept between two people — while you and your friend may know your tasteless comment was meant lightheartedly, his 700 other friends and Great Aunt Doris may not.

2. Tagging a bad picture
A picture is worth a thousand words. For this exact reason, you should think twice before tagging (or uploading) distasteful, embarrassing, or compromising photos of friends and acquaintances. Alan Chan, CEO of Bre.ad, says: “These days everyone and their grandmother is on social media, so the last thing you want is grandma or your boss seeing that embarrassing photo of you. Remember the golden rule, 'Tag others as you would like to be tagged yourself.'”

3. Requesting a social ask
According to Sarah Evans, owner of the PR/media services company Sevans Strategy, making a “social ask” is the worst faux pas a person can make. What is a social ask? "Follow me." "Like me." "Friend me." "Become a fan." "Check in here." In collaboration with Alterian, a web analytics and engagement management team, Evans ran a study to see how many social asks were made and found that more than 3.34 million were made in a one-month period! You wouldn’t publically ask a friend to tell another friend how wonderful you are, right? Similarly, you shouldn’t have to ask a person to like you or friend you.

4. Avoid trash talk
Whether it is a Facebook status update or a 140 character tweet, avoid trash talking a person, company, or a group of people. Especially avoid trash talking the hand that feeds you (read: your boss or company). Example after example can be shared of instances where an employee has written something unflattering about their employer in the heat of the moment thinking that they’ll never find out, and ends up being fired. Save your venting session for face-to-face interaction with friends.

5. Don’t Spam
This is pretty straightforward: Don’t spam your friends. Don’t keep inviting them to play Farmeville, take a quiz about which Twilight character is their soul mate, or make a purchase from a retailer so you can get a 10% discount. Inviting friends to these sorts of things are fine, but be selective. Send quiz invitations to friends you know would be interested — not just the first 10 friends you see. 

6. Keep private matters private
Is there anything more annoying than someone who shares a little too much on Facebook or Twitter, or someone that gets into an online heated argument about personal affairs on a social networking site? Keep it classy and avoid airing your dirty laundry with your social network. Keeping things private isn’t limited to fights — save critical feedback, condolence messages, and even a supportive pep talk note for a personal email or at the very least, a private message.

7. Not being active and responsive
In real life, not replying to an email or not returning a phone call is considered rude and inconsiderate. Similarly, not responding to a wall post or answering a question can be considered equally tasteless. If you have too much going on to answer friends back for every wall post, then consider temporarily deactivating your wall so that nobody can contact you. What’s the point of having a wall if you don’t use it?

8. Don’t market yourself on someone’s Facebook Page
No matter how awesome your new company or website is, don’t use your friend’s wall as your billboard. If you really would like more exposure, then send a message to your friend’s requesting they dedicate a status or spread the word with their friends. Posting a self-flattering post about how awesome your venture is both transparent and in bad taste.