Given my career background in IT, I still get excited with some of the new technology-creations people come up with and especially get intrigued when things kind-of mesh together so naturally. This means that somewhere behind the code, some really amazing brains created this ~ and this where Social Networking falls-in. Social Networking for me - is a well laid-out map linking (meshing) everyone together in its own mysterious way (for us developers we probably have more of an understanding of what's needed to make this happen - but in the end; you either enjoy it or you don't).
Social Networking is still very primitive, from my point of view, I can see Social Networking moving technology in a whole new direction and potentially changing how people interact with the www (Internet) fairly similar to how Google changed how people searched online.
Whether you are new or old to social networking tool it's important to continue to stay aware of your online presence - being accessible 24/7 to the world. [Unless you've make necessary security adjustments to prevent this - and still this point could be an argued.]
Either way, here are some basic guidelines to review for those of us who have online presence:
#1 Is this Business or Personal?
When you decide to embark within the social networking bandwagon you'll first need to have a email address. Be careful here which email address you use to register - your registration email choice can have an impact on your business-ethics, or could pretty much potentially cost you your job!
If you are using a social networking site (of your choice) for personal usage, however if you choose to use a work-related email address, just ensure that you are aware of your organization's policies and/or verdict on Social Networking usage at work guidelines (if any). Pleading the "naive" card doesn't always ring well with companies - know what your boundaries are and use them wisely.
If your aim is to use social networking sites for personal use - then by all means, use your own personal email address and if you don't have one, get one! There are countless sites out there that you can register yourself with that will provide you with FREE email access.
Other points to ponder related to #1 is to do some house-cleaning. Once your account is created and that you now have an online presence, not just right now but continuously proceed with doing some house-cleaning of this account. Dust doesn't accumulate as quickly online as it does in my living room but it can get messier faster since I "kind-of" really don't see it?! What am I talking about?...
If you don't want to start receiving (or increase your already existing) SPAM email counts, you'll have to decide what it is you wish to share with the public (a.k.a. the entire world).
First decide if you wish to make your email address visible on this new social networking site, and if you do - should it be visible to everyone or only to selected few?
Second - go through your social networking site's settings / options and review all of it's settings and options. I'm 100% sure you'll find some very interesting things here; similar to when you decide to move your sofa to do some "real" cleaning... you always find 'stuff' here don't-cha?!
Ok so what to look for... check for setting that will send you email notifications. Do you really want to receive an email every time someone interacts with your social networking site? If no, then by all means - disable these unnecessary notifications! Especially if you've registered using your work-related email account! Hello! IT will be knocking on your door (or cubicle) anytime - your dozen if not hundreds of notifications (which are basically spam messages) are taking up room in the email system and is using up what we IT people call useless bandwidth. ...You're going to be checking your social networking site anyways so why have redundant messages telling you the same thing you'll be seeing when you log-in to the site?!
There are countless other sections I could drill into but once you open-up this beast take time to tame it and you'll be pleasantly surprised at just how manageable social networking sites can be - but don't just open this section up once! Return to your options; settings; security; privacy... whatever it's call - fairly frequently. I make it a challenge to check my settings on my sites at least every 3 months (quarterly).
#2 Friends / Associates
Choose wisely! Friends are the links between you and people. This is what Social Networking sites are based on. The more the merrier (for them!).
What should you do and/or not do?
Well first the obvious - don't go "hitting" on your friends' friends. This is a "no-no". If you wouldn't flirt with random people when walking through the mall, then why would things be any different when you are hiding behind your social network profile? This goes the same for "poking" - please "poke" carefully. Sometimes what you think is done in good fun or what you think is a simple "Poke - Hey, how's it going?", could turn High-School drama on you in a split second!
Another area is counts - some people think it's important that they have a high number of Friends in their list. They know everyone! ...sure you do!? That's why you're at home Saturday night "creeping" people's profiles... [sarcasm gets the better part of me at times, I don't stop it cause I like it! ...what's that old saying, "If you can't take the heat then get out of the kitchen!"]
Just because you and Jo-Blow like the same song on YouTube doesn't mean you should request him to become your friend. If you think you've got more then 'a song' in common and would like to 'get-to-know-each-other' then send him a private message. This way, if he chooses to ignore you (which is fine - really cause liking the song "Don't-cha wish your girlfriend was hot like me" doesn't mean he's looking?!). Sending someone a private message puts the "ball" in their court and presents them with the choice of either "playing" or "turning down" the opportunity. In your private message you can then also state what your intentions are (ex. common interests; live in the same community; participate some similar sports; go to the same University maybe we could meet up for lunch and discuss Philosophy?...).
#3 Think Before you Post!
Back in my day, people didn't just shout out (yes out-loud) randomly "statuses" during class, or at work, or while walking down the street!? Today, social media sites and social networking sites make "shouting" so easy that it's almost an obsession. "I need to tell people what I'm doing/thinking right now cause my pose online is just dying to know!"... ya I sit here waiting for you to update your status... sure if I were stalking you!Example - Mary-Lou wants to throw her husband a surprise party. She broadcasts the event on Facebook to let everyone know when and where. Mary-Lou didn't check her Facebook account notifications and so all of her notifications are still "active". Her husband checks their email account, and voila get to read everyone's comment about his upcoming party.--> Bad judgment on Mary-Lou's part. <--
Another example - Betty-Jo thinks Susan & her husband are having issues. Instead of posting her concerns on Susan's Facebook wall (which might be public to everyone to read) she sends her a Private message. Susan replies back and let's Betty-Jo know that, "no everything is fine - John's work is just going through some restructuring so he's a little depressed at the moment, but we're seeing a therapist to help us cope with this. Thanks for your concern." --> Good judgment call on Betty-Jo's part. <--
Other common-sense "faux-pas":
- Spamming people
- Flame wars (don't argue publicly online)
- Keep it PG13
- Busy-bodies exist everywhere, even online (some people just live for drama!)
Don't forget to check your privacy settings regularly. As stated in rule #1 - Return to your options; settings; security; privacy... whatever it's call - fairly frequently.
Be aware of what it is you are forward-facing out publicly. Is it too much? Is it inappropriate? If you are friends (online) with all of your work colleagues, and at the same time are bashing your work or your boss... how long do you expect this to go on prior to them finding out?
#5 What's your Purpose / Mission?
Are you promoting something? Are you selling something? Is your site topic specific? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then maybe creating a social networking site specific for your business or product would be more appropriate. You could have two sites, one for personal usage and one more topic/business related. You could even create "Fan Pages" so that some of your friends can acknowledge your product or topic and provide feedback without seeming like your friendship is intertwined with you topic/business.
Bottom line, social networking sites can be fun and are full of "did you know..." gossip-like details. Social networking site's newsfeeds will pretty much (one-day) replace our local papers and who knows maybe even tv and radio live-media sources. Everything will just be online since news is shared faster (in live-time) this way and can be changed/updated in real-time. No make-up prep; hairdressers; cameramen; lighting; and all that jazz... heck maybe even our taxes will go down, yeh right?! ...Was worth the mention, right?!
Just remember - whatever you choose to do online, choose wisely. It's easy to forget the picture you posted of your friend in high school puking in the backyard [cause that was funny??] - only to find it 8 years later, re-posted online by someone else just when he/she [you're-now-no-longer-friend] is completing his/her Political Science degree. Think about it...
What you think is funny, is it REALLY? Would you go out of your way, print this out and send it as a postcard to your friend in Australia, and would they actually laugh about it, really?!
Be smart. Think twice. And remember, do onto others what you would want done to you. If you wouldn't want someone to share something about you, then by all means - don't share it about them. If you wish someone would have "minded-their own business", then mind your own too (or if you are really concerned, contact them directly - privately.)
Social Networking - use at your own discretion. ...I think if you read some of the fine print, in the terms of agreement - somewhere - it states that you have to have some common sense to use their product..., I'm pretty sure I read that somewhere... ;-)
