Netiquette - Tweet others as you wish to be Tweeted!

Netiquette

What is and isn’t acceptable? How far do you go before you cross the line? Most forms of etiquette aren’t written down, they are simply ‘understood’ by those it concerns. To make matters more complicated, we all have slightly different parameters. But even so, surely there will always be a core set of principles that most people agree upon and this boils down to common sense.. doesn’t it?

Take golf (not that I do as it happens), the etiquette can feel quite overbearing to newcomers… greet certain people in a certain way, don’t stand there, watch your shadow – it may put other plays off (seriously). Of course some of these rules do apply to safety and enjoyment of the game but some are a test of extreme manners and protocol. At least for golfers they don’t need to use their judgement, it’s all written down in the handbook.

With every new method of communication comes a new set of self-imposed (and you hope generally understood by others) rules of etiquette. Don’t send hundreds of internal emails every day – no-one wants an inbox invasion. Is it ever acceptable to put a kiss at the end of a business email? Do you CC or BCC?

How do you achieve good ‘Twitter hygiene’? Should you ever USE CAPITALS or is this just shouting at people? I have a certain issue with bad news or negative Tweets. I know that stuff is going on, unless it’s an urgent breaking news story that your Twitter peeps may have missed, I would really rather not have a torrent of that stuff. I don’t need to know it’s another grey day in a grey city and the weekend is miles off. How about DM’s? This topic makes me feel immediately uncomfortable, like someone raising a taboo subject at a dinner party and your toes curl a little. How often should you send DM’s? Monthly? Weekly? Deep breath… Daily? Think that was the line back there. How much transactional content is OK? Surely every now and then you do want to say ‘Hey, look at my stuff. You can buy it!’ How many tweets a day is too many? Does anyone use automated messages successfully? Does it just turn people off?

I have heard the ‘dinner party’ analogy before in that you should treat social media as if you are at a dinner party, keep it conversational, interesting and be interested in others. However, my dinner parties are not an ideal barometer for me. They tend to have lots of stuff in capitals, far too many direct messages, a few controversial subjects (although not much spam) and plenty of low grade, rambling content.

Please enlighten me. Point me to the comprehensive ‘Twitter Etiquette for Dummies’. Until then, let’s get back out there in the social mediasphere. And remember to ‘Tweet others as you wish to be Tweeted.’

FORE!