Social Media's Unwritten Rules on Etiquette

Social media has forever changed the internet as we know it. It has provided us a way to endless possibilities. It allows us another innovative way to market ourselves while saving time in our busy lives. One can get updated on the latest news and headlines faster than ever before with social media outlets such as Twitter, MySpace, and Facebook, too.

However, a disturbing trend has caused issues amongst users in all social media entities. We've all dealt with spammers, and some have even had a hacker or two trying to obtain personal information any which way they can. But there are some unwritten rules in social media that everyone should adhere to.

I like using services available to me to find friends while staying in contact with them, and helping to build traffic to my websites. I'm very easy-going when it comes to social media, but I do think people can cross the line while abusing those outlets. Here are three I'll address here....

1. Facebook gaming such as Farmville and Mafia Wars

For anyone that has used Facebook, you know that you've seen your fair share of those invites to those games like Farmville, Mafia Wars, and others. I do not play any games on the site, and I don't have too much of an issue with it. But some constantly flood your page with updates on the games and invites to help them which gets to be too much when they take up your homepage. If they choose to play, that's their business.

One should know when to back off constantly sending invites because there's no reason in annoying friends to a point where they might consider removing you from your friend's list especially if you don't know them well enough. You can hide their status if it continues, and possibly sending them a private message about them inviting you constantly. Most don't mean anything by it or know it's an annoyance, but it's probably best to contact them directly if you choose to deal with them instead of calling them out publicly.

2. Twitter Etiquette

It's common for followers to link to their own sites as well as friends on Twitter. It allows those sites to get more traffic. Everyone should be appreciative when you see your site(s) being tweeted, and you should thank them for it.

Spamming with links to sites, and annoying direct messages can be bothersome on there, too. That's also a good reason to block those types completely off, so that it doesn't become more of a problem. If it is someone you know that follows you, it would be best to contact them via direct messaging without calling them out in a tweet. If they don't stop, then block them off.

3. Video links

One thing that has been a growing trend especially on Facebook is video links being sent in private messages to those on your friend's list. Almost always, they contain a virus that can cause real damage to your computer. Whether you know how it happened or not, be sure to always post a status update to warn others not to open and click the video link in the private message. You may even want your friends to post a status update for others to be on the lookout for the video link, too. One can seriously damage their reputation by not informing everyone about this especially if those victims click on the video link leading to a virus. Be aware of suspicious links in private messages on there at all times.

Those are just some of things I've seen and dealt with in regards to social media outlets. I haven't experienced much outside those things, but what you do online says a lot about the type of person you are. This is social media etiquette that everyone should know to follow, and not doing so can ruin your online reputation as well as offline if people such as co-workers or employers are made aware of your activity.