Social Media Etiquette

  1. Glorify God not yourself.
  2. Avoid mixing business with pleasure, but know it’s always mixed up.
  3. Ask six edit questions.
  4. Is it offensive to anyone?
  5. Does it embarrass anyone?
  6. Would I want this said/posted about me?
  7. Have I looked at the entire picture, not just the focal point?
  8. Could this be easily misunderstood or taken out of context?
  9. Am I capable of editing properly (e.g., too tired, too angry, too impaired)?
  10. Your sense of humor is not everyone else’s sense of humor—remember the online audience is potentially the entire planet, and you can’t un-post a post.
  11. Use humor sparingly and with great carefulness.
  12. Don’t use social media as your method of arguing, feuding, or debating—handle conflict in person.
  13. Avoid oversharing the details; no one likes too much of a good thing—the difference between a nag and a request is the amount of time between the question; often the difference between a good post and a bad post is the amount of time between them.
  14. Build your online footprint to be consistent with what you want on your tombstone—you are leaving a legacy.
  15. Don’t exaggerate, not even a little bit.
  16. Communicate better, clearer, faster—is that gizmo, cool new trick, sound, etc., helping you get your story/point across, or is it the latest technology distraction?
  17. Never whine or complain online—most of your audience can do nothing about your problem.
  18. Pause before your post—take just a moment to reread your words and look over your picture; even the simple and quick responses could benefit from the pause that catches fat thumb and auto spellcheck disasters.