Manners for the Twitter Zone

twitter_mannersIn this latest of the recent series about on-line manners, below are some guidelines I found, which I think are great for Twitter users. As always click the link at the end of the summary for a more detailed description.

♦ ♦ ♦

♦ Twitter manners 101

  1. Be gracious.
  2. Be social. Twitter is about conversation, not monologue. Say “thank you” a lot.
  3. Use the @ reply to publicly thank someone.
  4. Don’t just follow people; engage them.
  5. Have a sense of humor.Refrain from flaming.
  6. Use your words to encourage and lift up rather than to tear down.
  7. Never underestimate the power of a tweet.
  8. Don’t follow someone expecting him to follow you back. Follow because you’re interested in what the person has to say. Conversely, and somewhat ironically, if someone does follow you, it’s courteous to follow back.
  9. Be informal. Have fun. Don’t treat it as a chore.
  10. Don’t hound influential people, begging them to read your blog or retweet you. Win their trust and influence by being remarkable and serving them first. My best strategy for networking is serving others. via 20 Essential Tips for Better Twitter Etiquette | Goins, Writer.

know_rules

It is always a good idea  to check out some of the rules Twitter has about:
Impersonation,Trademark. Privacy, Violence and Threats, Copyright, Unlawful Use, Misuse of Twitter Badges via Twitter Help Center | The Twitter Rules.

You should also check out: Rules and best practices via Twitter Help Center | Rules and best practices.

I hope this is helpful 🙂

Guidelines for Facebook Users

caution robot_facebookContinuing with our theme of  technology manners and proper digital behavior in general, I looked for some tips that could be useful for Facebook users.  Below are some of the highlights I found at  http://brainz.org/10-must-follow-facebook-etiquette-rules/.

Do yourself a favor and check out the full post at your next opportunity.  In the meanwhile keep these ideas in mind.

  1. Present a true/ FILTERED – representation of yourself. Remember strangers are included in this digital space.  Refrain from bashing your ex, bosses, or others who have irritated you in the past.  REMAIN NEUTRAL!.
  2. BE CAUTIOUS who you accept and send friend requests to.  If you share pictures, or other personal information be aware that those items could be shared with the entire world.
  3. Facebook was devised to bring out everyone’s inner narcissistic demons. Be sure to tame the beast with careful moderation.
  4.  Keep it a mystery. Everyone loves a mystery. Keep your posts short and sweet with concise, thoughtful words. Avoid rants and ramblings.
  5. Purge. If you’ve collected a large Facebook following in the form of friends from your past but would rather not have them in your present, purge them.
  6. If you’re going to be dishonest, don’t get caught on Facebook. There are no laws against lying but just because you can, does not mean you should. If you must lie, be careful not to get caught on Facebook.

purple starBelow is  another great site to use for Facebook Manners:

This blog is composed as a guide to life; how the simplest of pleasures can become so hideously complex once they are mixed into our various daily activities. Why not just log off? Why not indeed? Perhaps because that ‘friend’ from those old school days has just got back in touch (I wonder what s/he’s doing now?), your father knows more about your life than is healthy and insists on writing on your Wall, or you live in a small radius of a wealth of interesting neighbours and yet none are your friends on Facebook…

So whilst we are all hooked up, plugged in and tuned out to technology, some things do not change. So it is here that the everyday machinations of what to do, when to do it and how/not to appropriately stay in touch are drawn together. If you are not suitably attune to etiquette, then you are not operating at full capacity to be a more comfortable, pleasant and happy person. via About this site | Proper Facebook Etiquette.

I hope this is helpful 🙂

Do you have technology manners?

fyi_snub_etiquette Have you thought about whether your manners are good or bad, where technology is concerned. What is your Netiquette IQ?  How would you grade your text, email, voicemail manners?  Do you even know what they should be? Martha Irvine asks just these questions in her article Email, voicemail, text_no response.  What Gives?  http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/email-voicemail-text-response-18595268

♦  ♦  ♦  ♦

After reading her article, I thought it might not be a bad idea for me to investigate what are considered some of the things you should and should not do.  It turns out some of the suggestions I found have been around for some time.  PC World,  had guidelines as far back as 2009.  Check out these summaries, and then click the link for more detailed descriptions.

Text Message Manners
Too many texts?
…A good rule of thumb is to consider how many times you would be comfortable calling the same person in a day. Think of each text conversation as a phone call and ask yourself whether you are imposing on the other person.

The “other people” factor.

…It is not necessarily rude to text while you’re in the presence of others–if the point of the text message is to involve the recipient in the physical gathering. On the other hand, communicating extensively via text when you should be fully engaged in what’s going on in the real world will surely annoy those around you.

A reply is not always needed.
It is acceptable to respond to a text message with a phone call, an e-mail message, or any other form of communication. The recipient is free to choose the medium of the response, or even whether to respond at all. Similarly, there is no strict rule governing how promptly a person should respond to a text or instant message. The recipient may reply at any convenient time, though in general text messaging and IM are most appropriate for subjects of some urgency.
Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/169139/text_messaging_etiquette.html

♦  ♦  ♦  ♦

Email Manners
Mind the spam. Distribution lists are a godsend for getting the word out about something en masse, but take care not to spam your recipients.

Carefully consider who gets a reply. “Reply to all” is a powerful but widely abused e-mail feature. When more than four or five recipients are involved, you should use “reply to all” only if the message is of critical importance to the vast majority of those listed.

Out of office messages are more useful than you think. Arranging to send an automated “out of office” e-mail response to anyone who sends you a message can be a big time saver for people who are trying to get in touch with you.

Forget not the power of the pen. These days, whether you’re sending a thank-you note or a simple greeting, a handwritten note will have much greater impact than a dashed-off e-mail message.
Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/169138/email_etiquette.html

Voicemail Manners
Brevity is key. The average person can read a message at least three times faster than you can speak it, so most listeners find every second they spend listening to voicemail agonizingly tedious. One commonly cited maximum tolerable length for a voicemail message is 30 seconds.

Simplicity swings both ways. Having a short outgoing message is a simple but extremely important to avoid angering your callers. Don’t fill your outgoing message with alternate phone numbers and e-mail addresses. Instead offer callers one alternative means of reaching you (either a cell phone number or an e-mail address, usually). If someone urgently needs to track you down, they will find you.

Just pick up the handset. Never leave a voicemail message for someone while you’re speaking through a speakerphone.
Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/169142/voicemail_etiquette.html

I hope this is helpful 🙂