smetiquette The Do’s and Dont’s of Social Media
Lia DiValentin
Smetiquette: Social Media Do’s & Don’ts Copyright © 2014 by Lia DiValentin All rights reserved. No part of the material herein may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. For further information, please write: Lia DiValentin 12771 Misty Creek Ln. Fairfax, Virginia U.S. ladivalent@gmail.com
For Mom. Dad. Louis. John. Coco.
CONTENTS
VI CONTENTS
XI
PREFACE
16
34
01 22 40
OVERVIEW
10
28
SUMMARY
42
APPENDIX
CONTENTS VII
PREFACE personally...
The idea for this book came out of my own personal struggle with adopting new modes of communication over the past 10 years. This was partially due to the fact that for the first half of my life I only communicated through the mail, on a land-line telephone, and in person. However, this all changed when advances in computer and telephone technology created an explosion of new ways to communicate on a global level. I spent the majority of my adolescent years trying to adapt and navigate new methods of social interaction, whether it be cell phones, text messages, instant messengers, emails, video chat, and social media. Looking back, one overarching theme I discovered during the trials and tribulations of grasping digital communication was that each platform has its own accepted rules of behavior; and often what works socially offline, isn’t applicable to online. This book provides guidelines learned from my first-hand experiences managing social media and from various credited sources. Society has undergone a social change and now being “social” in today’s world is multi-dimensional. Enjoy L.D. Fairfax, Va May 2014
PREFACE IX
OVERVIEW
OVERVIEW 1
WHAT IS SMETIQUETTE? a brief intro...
The invention of the Internet has changed the way individuals and groups of people interact with one another around world. In fact, an entire generation has been brought up with the idea that “socializing” includes an online component. However, without proper knowledge of how to connect across networks, social media can be a double-edged sword, and you may jeopardize your professional and personal reputation among employers and friends. Everyday it seems that another celebrity or politician is making headline news for outrageously behaving on social media networks. Remember the public Amanda Bynes meltdown or the Anthony Weiner scandal? If these people would have just considered that once you share something publicly on social media, you should expect the world to read it; then maybe they would of thought twice about posting such inappropriate material. People need to recognize that nowadays the police, schools, and even employers use social media to track your behavior. This is a great example of why online etiquette is so important. You can influence people in a negative way, without knowing you are doing it. One way to counter the negative experiences emerging from the public’s severe lack of consideration & common courtesy is to establish a global etiquette; a set of rules, for social media, also known as “Smetiquette.” Social media has become a culture, and as in any culture, it has norms, conventions and accepted etiquette that users should follow. However, not every person knows exactly how to use social media with manners, which is why I have created this book to provide guidance on how to be a productive and socially responsible “Smetizens.” (social media citizen)
2 OVERVIEW
SM•ET•I•QUETTE [SM-ET-I-KIT, -KET] NOUN. social media
Internet-based software and interfaces that allows people to communicate in a social context online.
+
etiquette
A set of customs or rules indicating the proper and polite way to behave in a particular culture society.
Simply stated, it’s social media etiquette... that is, the etiquette of cyberspace. In other words, smetiquette is a set of rules for behaving and interacting properly online. The definition is really based on conducting yourself in such a way online that you do not offend others, cause them spam, or any other kind of harm.
OVERVIEW 3
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?
REASON 1 CULTURAL AWARENESS Each culture operates under a system of rules that may be expected and recognized as common etiquette. When you enter any new culture you’re liable to commit a few social blunders unless you know the rules.
REASON 2 IMPAIRS COMMUNICATION Cyberspace culture impairs our ability to pick up on gestures, facial expressions, voice tone, laughter, body language and other features of human non-verbal communication, which often allows for misinterpretation.
4 OVERVIEW
NEARLY ONE IN FOUR PEOPLE
WORLDWIDE USE SOCIAL NETWORKS
RESEARCH SHOWS
7% IS BASED ON NONVERBAL BODY CUES!
OF COMMUNICATION IS BASED ON WRITTEN OR VERBAL WORD USAGE.
93%
“
The whole world has seen the impact of the expansion and adoption of social media tactics, & the rising statistics speak for themselves.
REASON 3
”
TWO IN FIVE EMPLOYERS
FOR YOUR REPUTATION If you share something publicy on social media, you should expect the world to read it. People need to recognize that nowadays the police, schools, and even employers use social media to track your behavior.
REASON 4 RISE OF CYBERBULLYING Social media sites account for the most vicious cases of using the internet to deliberately hurt, upset, harass, or embarrass someone else because of their ease to spread a message to such a large audience.
USE SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES TO RECRUIT & SCREEN JOB APPLICANTS
69 PERCENT
OF YOUNG PEOPLE HAVE BEEN VICTIMS OF CYBERBULLYING OVERVIEW 5
WHAT YOU WILL LEARN In this book, I will define the guidelines and best practices around social media etiquette as well as the do’s and don’ts of popular social networks. I will investigate a variety of research and studies done on social media in order to develop a standardized set of rules & tips that will allow an individual to achieve the perfect balance between their personal and professional life online. There’s something for everyone in here, from the fundamentals of how social media is used to details about individual platforms and overarching best practices. Each chapter is dedicated to a specific platform and will present interesting stats, key insights, a guide to the platforms terminology, and of course a list of unspoken rules to abide to while interacting in the digital sphere.
my approach and suggestions offered in this book are based on maintaining the integrity of two fundamental principles... 6 OVERVIEW
1 the golden rule TREAT OTHERS IN THE WAY YOU WANT TO BE TREATED This is most essential rule that prevails in the digital world. As with any public venue, proper etiquette is crucial for an overall positive experience.
2 a balancing act PERSONAL LIFE VS. PROFESSIONAL LIFE Social media often blurs the lines between your personal and professional life and figuring out how to achieve the perfect balance between these two worlds is in your best interest.
OVERVIEW 7
SOCIAL MEDIA TYPES Social media embraces web-based and mobile-based technologies to facilitate interactive communication between organisations, communities and individuals. The social media map provides a visual summary of some of the types of social media platforms we will review, and their purposes.
VIDEO-SHARING
IMAGE-SHARING NETWORKING
BLOGGING
8 OVERVIEW
MICROBLOG
USER CHECKLIST 10 QUESTIONS TO ASK BEFORE YOU POST Consider the following questions before posting on social media. It is important for you to maintain a clear head and think through your choice of words.
QUESTION #1
QUESTION #6
QUESTION #2
QUESTION #7
QUESTION #3
QUESTION #8
QUESTION #4
QUESTION #9
QUESTION #5
QUESTION #10
Should I target a speciďŹ c audience with this message?
Will anyone really care about this content besides me?
Will I offend anyone with this content? Does it matter?
How many times have I already posted something today?
Did I spell check? Is this readable/comprehendable?
Will I be okay with absolutely anyone seeing this?
Is there a better social outlet for this type of content?
Am I using too many abbreviations & jargon in this post?
Is this reactive communication or is it well thought-out?
Is this really something I want to share, or is it just me venting?
OVERVIEW 9
757 MILLION total daily active users
OFFERS 80
+
languages best time to post
Founded in 2004, by Harvard student Mark
Zuckerberg (with Dustin Moskovitz and Chris Hughes) Facebook’s mission is to give people the power to share and make the world more open and connected. People use Facebook to stay connected with friends and family, to discover what’s going on in the world, and to share and express what matters to them. Facebook is, undoubtedly, the most popular and most frequented social network in the world. It has seen unprecedented and outstanding growth since its inception and is constantly evolving new functionality to maintain its dominance.
10 FACEBOOK
1 PM-4 PM bad time to post
9 PM-8 AM
350 MILLION photographs uploaded daily
20 MINUTES
1.23
average time per visit
BILLION active users
IN 2012, PAID
1 BILLION DOLLARS
for instagram
4.5 BILLION average daily likes
FACEBOOK 11
FACEBOOK INSIGHT POSTING FACEBOOK FOULS
PURCHASES
ROMANCE
EXERCISE
POLITICS
inside look CHILDREN
12 FACEBOOK
MOST ANNOYING TYPES OF POSTS
MEALS
FACEBOOK LINGO TAGS: You can tag another Facebook member in pho-
PROFILE: Facebook refers to your Profile as your
tos and posts that you publish on Facebook.
complete picture and story on Facebook. It includes your Profile picture, biography, personal information, and more. Your Profile can be public or private. It’s your personal piece of “real estate” on Facebook.
GROUP: Groups can be created by any Facebook member and provide a space where smaller groups of people can come together to discuss specific topics. Groups can be public or private.
FRIEND: Your Facebook Friends are the people you
EVENT: Use the Events feature to organize events,
connect with (or “Friend”) and share content and updates with on Facebook. You can send Friend requests to other Facebook members. You also receive Friend requests from other members which you can accept, decline, or ignore.
gather RSVPs, and even respond to events that you’re invited to.
LIKE: You can click the Like link on any Facebook
PAGE: A space on Facebook for brands, businesses, organizations, and entertainers.
CHAT: You can send and receive instant messages with your Facebook Friends without leaving Facebook using the Chat feature.
WALL: Your Facebook Wall is where you can publish updates and where your Friends can post updates directly to you.
update to show that you like the content. When you Like something, the action appears as an update on your Facebook Wall. You can also Like any piece of content that you find across the Internet whenever it’s accompanied by the Facebook Like button
MESSAGES: Your Facebook Messages are similar to
TIMELINE: Your Facebook Timeline shows all of your
private email messages. They appear in your Facebook Inbox and can include text messages, chats, emails, and mobile messages from your Facebook Friends.
Facebook updates and activities in reverse chronological order.
NEWS FEED: Your Facebook News Feed is the con-
NOTIFICATIONS: You can set up your Facebook Profile so you receive email, mobile, or onsite updates when certain activities happen on Facebook. For example, you can be notified when an update is made to a Group you belong to or when someone accepts your Friend request.
tinually appended feed of status updates that appears on your Facebook Profile home page. It shows the most recent activities from your Facebook Friends and Facebook Pages that you follow.
GAMES: Developed by third-parties and enable you to play with other Facebook members
FACEBOOK 13
BEST PRACTICES THE DO’S AND DONT’S
RULE
TAG AND UNTAG WISELY.
RULE
TMI: CENSOR YOURSELF
RULE
AVOID COMMENT CONVERSATIONS
RULE
NEVER END A RELATIONSHIP
01 02 03 04 14 FACEBOOK
When tagging others in your posts or pictures, be mindful of how it could affect his or her relationships, career or reputation. If you think the content could potentially harm any of the preceding things, it’s best not to tag your friend and maybe even avoid posting it all together. The same goes for yourself. If you’re tagged in a picture or post that could be questionable to fellow viewers, remove your tagged name. Furthermore, don’t tag people who aren’t actually IN the picture, note, or video. That’s “tag spam.”
You don’t have to post your every movement and moment in life. No one really wants to know if you sat in traffic, ran into a stranger, or what you had for dinner. Limit your posts and try to post only once or twice a day. There is no need to exploit everything that is occurring in your life. Post status updates that others might legitimately care to know about your life or the world at large. You get ONE status per day. If you want to bore people with your every thought, join Twitter.
One of most obnoxious things for a Facebook user is to login and find 25 notifications that have nothing to do with them. When you comment on someone’s status, try to avoid having an irrelevant conversation with a fellow commenter. If you’re not discussing the status itself, these actions can quickly become annoying. Instead, take your conversation to Facebook chat or private messages.
Don’t alter your Facebook relationship status without letting the other person know. Talk with your partner & check twice to make sure you share the same “understanding.” if you aren’t mature enough to look a person in the eyes and tell him or her its over, you weren’t mature enough to be in a relationship in the first place.
RULE
RESPOND TO WALL POSTS AND MESSAGES
RULE
DO NOT POST/SHARE CHAIN STATUS UPDATES
RULE
USE APPROPRIATE LANGUAGE
RULE
DON’T SPAM OTHERS
RULE
STAY AWAY FROM VAGUE-BOOKING
05 06 07 08 09
Reply to comments/messages on time. If you feel overwhelmed by the enormity of conversations you need to respond to, let them know that you are busy.If a friend sends you a message, respond within 24 hours. The internet has drastically changed our expectations for response. Plan to check your Facebook once a day and allow time to reach out and respond. Away from your computer? No excuse. Facebook is available as a mobile app; it’s everywhere you are.
Remember those chain emails demanding that you forward to all your friends or you die a horrible death? Well, Facebook has a similar kind of chains. These posts asking you to “like”, “comment”, or “share”, usually are harvesting your information. Unless there is a good reason to forward such status updates, photographs, or videos, avoid being part of these spam-scams. When you see your newsfeed updates filled with the same status, you get annoyed instead, and you associate your negative emotion to that social cause.
Write only what you would say in person. If you need an asterisk within a word, then don’t use that word. Break out the thesaurus and fill in the blank with another colorful word. There is no need to possibly offend someone with your posts by using profanity. When writing on someone else’s wall avoid off-color comments and gossip. And check for spelling mistakes. Just think, “What kind of impression do I want to give others?”
Facebook apps are a great way to integrate fun and games into your social life, but make sure you’re mindful of their alerts. If you’re constantly inviting friends to help plow your crops or kill more zombies, you will quickly become obnoxious. Not everyone is interested in keeping a farm or hunting for the living dead, so it’s best just to keep those notifications to yourself. Confirm their interests first before bombarding friends with game/quiz/group requests.
What is “vaguebooking” you ask? It is the act of posting a status update that is extremely vague for the sole purpose of attracting attention. An example of this is: “Ugh…why me!?” – Why what?! If you have yet to catch the vaguebooking bug, then please don’t join the mass of people muddying up their timelines with inane nonsense and cries for attention.
FACEBOOK 15
Created in 2006, by Jack Dorsey, Evan Williams, Biz
Stone and Noah Glass, Twitter is an online social networking & microblogging service used by millions of people and organizations to quickly share and discover information. Users access the site through the website interface, SMS, or mobile device app and send and read short 140-character text messages, called “tweets”. Registered users can read and post tweets, but unregistered users can only read them. With the mission to give everyone the power to create and share ideas and information instantly, without barriers, Twitter has evolved from more than just a real-time communication tool into one of the world’s leading sources of social discovery and newsworthy events.
241 MILLION monthly active users $#*%! 16 T WIT TER
ONE IN 13 TWEETS contains vulgar language
THE NAME “TWITTER” COMES FROM ...
the sudden series of short informative chirping calls and sounds made by birds
OFFERS 35
+
languages LARRY THE BIRD
the blue bird was named after the famous hall of fame basketball player
143,199 most tweets per sec record
500 MILLION tweets are sent per day
T WIT TER 17
TWITTER INSIGHT
HOW TO USE HASHTAGS
#
The use of hashtags in social media originated back in August 2007, when designer Chris Messina asked his Twitter followers how they felt about using the pound sign (#) to group conversations on the microblogging platform, and thus became the first person to use the hashtag in its modern capacity.
TIP #1
TIP#2
Use a maximum of 2-5 hashtags in your tweets. If you use too many your followers will think you are spamming them.
Tweets are restricted to 140 characters. You don’t want a hashtag taking up 50% of the letters in your tweet .
TIP#3
TIP#4
In a tag directory such as tagdef.com, give your tag a meaning & you can also search for the meaning of existing tags.
Make sure there are no spaces in the words preceding the hashtag or punctuation, as it will break the link.
DON’T OVERUSE
DEFINE YOUR TAG
18 T WIT TER
KEEP THEM SHORT
NO SPACES
TWITTER LINGO TWEET: A 140-character message posted to a user’s
MENTION: To communicate with another Twitter
Twitter profile.
user, you can either send a private direct message (privately) or mention the user in your public post so others can also see. To mention, simply insert an ‘@’ sign before the username.
FOLLOWER: A follower is a Twitter user who has subscribed to your account so he or she can see all your posts and updates on your own page.
HANDLE: A Twitter user’s name, 16- or less characters and always preceded by the @ symbol.
DIRECT MESSAGE/DM: A message that is sent privately and can only be seen by the sender and the receiver. You can only send a DM to somebody who is following you. (can only be 140 characters)
FEED: A list of updates or tweets that are constantly
MODIFIED TWEET/MT: Similar to a retweet, but with modifications. This occurs most often when a user needs to shorten the Tweet in order to add commentary and still squeeze it all in within 140 characters.
@REPLIES: A Tweet posted in reply to another user’s message, usually posted by clicking the “reply” button next to their Tweet in your timeline. Always begins with @username
being updated. They are usually arranged in chronological order, with the most recently updated ones at the top for easier viewing.
TWEETDECK: Desktop application that allows you
GEOTAGGING: The use of location data in Tweets to
VERIFICATION: A process whereby a user’s Twitter
tell us where you are in real time. Is also called “Tweet With Your Location.”
account is stamped to show that a legitimate source is authoring the account’s Tweets. Sometimes used for accounts who experience identity confusion on Twitter.
URL SHORTENER: Applications, such as bit.ly or tinyurl, that allow for the shortening of web addresses into shorter links for inserting into a tweet
RETWEET/RT: The act of sharing another user’s Tweet with all of your followers – spreading the word wider. Usually preceded by “RT” and “@[username],” to give credit to the original poster.
to manage multiple users and multiple Twitter accounts or feeds.
UNFOLLOW: Used as a verb, ‘unfollow’ happens when one of your followers decides he or she doesn’t want to be updated with your posts anymore and gets out of your network.
OVERHEARD/OH: Used to anonymously quote something funny that you heard, usually in real life.
T WIT TER 19
BEST PRACTICES THE DO’S AND DONT’S
RULE
BE SELECTIVE IN WHO YOU FOLLOW
RULE
AVOID AUTOMATED SERVICES
RULE
DO SEND TWEETS OF VALUE
RULE
REFRAIN FROM OVER-TWEETING
01 02 03 04 20 T WIT TER
Don’t follow people just to get more followers. Ultimately, the more people you follow, the bigger the stream of information and the louder the noise, even with filtering tools and Twitter lists. You don’t need to feel that you have to follow everyone and you shouldn’t feel hurt if someone doesn’t follow you back. Perhaps the rudest move is to unfollow people once they follow you.
Direct messaging is one of the most misused features of Twitter. Automated Twitter updates and automated responses that thank new followers, are annoying and can be viewed as ‘spam’. Since they require no thought or effort, they aren’t useful in building relationships. You don’t want the first impression that you make on your follower to be from a robot. DM only when you want to send a private message to an individual.
Not every post should be all about you! The purpose of Twitter is to engage with an audience, so be sure to send tweets of value. Tweets that contain content such as news, quotes, or other thought provoking topics will encourage re-tweets and increase your followers. No matter if you are operating a personal or professional account, enrich the Twitter-world with tweets of substance. Post 80% helpful or entertaining content and save 20% for the self-promotional stuff.
Choose quality over quantity. Giving a detailed rundown of your daily activities is mundane and couldn’t be more normal or boring. By constantly tweeting about your hourly charades, you are clogging up your followers’ home pages. That’s grounds for un-following. If you’re someone who participates in Twitter chats or is doing live tweeting during an event, make it known to your followers and send out a high volume warning. Otherwise, if you suspect you might be tweeting too much, a good idea might be to ask your followers what they think.
RULE
GIVE CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE
RULE
BE CONSIDERATE OF REPLYING VS. DMING
RULE
SHOW APPRECIATION & THANKS
RULE
DON’T SPEW HATE OR NEGATIVITY
RULE
USE LESS THAN 140 CHARACTERS
05 06 07 08 09
Like any other piece of content, acknowledge the originator of the idea or information. Remember a tweet can have an embarrassingly long life. Tell who your sources are. Don’t take credit for an idea, topic, link, opinion, etc. if you got it from someone else. When you re-tweet, show it’s a re-tweet (by including “RT” in the text) and credit the original author in reply format (that is, add an @ before their Twitter handle). Attribution is just as important on Twitter as it is on blogs.
Don’t use twitter for chatting or personal conversation. There are simply some things that are meant for the public sphere and for the private sphere. To decide when to reply to someone or direct message them, stop and think, “Is this something that I want other people to know and would the person I am replying to be okay with me messaging them something publicly?” If someone direct messaged you, don’t @ them publicly. Direct message them back.
Let others know you appreciate their mentions and other information. Keep track of replies and direct messages and respond promptly. If someone sends you either kind of message as the start of an exchange it’s just bad form to not reply. Using a client application such as TweetDeck you can actually set up groups specifically to monitor Replies and Direct Message. It is so easy you really have no excuse.
There is NO last word on Twitter! So don’t get involved in drawn out, heated debates. Make your point (concisely!) and disagree amicably if needed. Rude, sarcastic, or underhanded tweets should be avoided at all costs. If you’ve got a problem with someone, don’t whine about it on Twitter. If someone has a problem with you, block them and move on with your life.
Research shows that Tweets with under 100 characters had a 17 percent higher engagement. Whenever possible, keep the length of your posts to 120 characters, which is 20 less than the maximum allowed. This shorter message makes it easier for others to “Retweet” your message because there is room left over for them to add their thoughts and comments. Remember being re-tweeted is one of the best forms of exposure because someone else is referring to you as an authority, which establishes you as a credible, reliable source.
T WIT TER 21
Founded in 2002, and launched in May 2003,
LinkedIn is a business-oriented social networking site. It is mainly used for professional networking. It allows you to create a custom profile and add other LinkedIn users to your list of connections. Unlike most social media sites, LinkedIn profiles are designed to be professional, rather than personal. They appear like a resume, with education and work experience being the most prominent. By using LinkedIn, you can keep in touch with past colleagues and meet new potential business partners.
+
2. 1 MILLION professional groups
MAY 3RD 2012 linkedin purchased slideshare available in 22 LANGUAGES 22 LINKEDIN
2 NEW MEMBERS added every second
+
3company MILLION pages 277 MILLION total active members
IN OVER 200 countries & territories LINKEDIN 23
LINKEDIN INSIGHT OPTIMIZE YOUR PROFILE
24 LINKEDIN
Be Contactable
Embrace the Visual
List your email address or links to other social media accounts.
Show examples of professional work, presentations, & documents.
Align to your Industry
Join Relevant Groups
Be found by the right people by being specific about your industry(s).
Joining a group lets others contact you using the group messaging feature.
Show Qualifications
Be Active & Involved
Add any experiences (volunteer work) that may set you apart from others.
Update your status daily and share insightful news with your industry.
State your Location
Brand Your Headline
Be found and help Linkedin locate contacts and employers close to you.
Include info. designed to encourage your viewers to learn more about you.
LINKEDIN LINGO PROFILE: This is your identity on LinkedIn and where
NETWORK: A group of users that can contact you
you display your skills, experience and professional background. This has the feel of a resume & it is important to use your profile to demonstrate what your company does as well as highlight your professional skills.
through connections up to three degrees away.
CONNECTIONS: The people who are part of your
INMAIL: Private messages that allow a member to directly contact any LinkedIn user, whilst protecting the recipients privacy (fee based).
network on LinkedIn. To connect with someone, you are required to invite the person to join your network and they must accept. There are 3 levels of connections; 1st-degree Connection: is a person you are directly connected with.
ACTIVITY FEED: Displays network activity such as
2nd-degree Connection: is the connection of your
people who weren’t previously connected.
connections.
3rd-degree Connection: is the connection of your 2nd-degree connections
HEADLINE: The most important part of your LinkedIn profile. It sits just below your name and can hold up to 120 characters. This important piece of real estate must be memorable and informative enough to get your prospects to read further into your profile, they need to know exactly what you do in 120 characters.
COMPANY PAGE: A place for businesses to share information about their company and post news, job opportunities, status updates and more.
INBOX: Is where you can send, view, and receive messages. You can also set your inbox to forward any messages directly to your email inbox if you do not sign into LinkedIn daily.
joining/starting groups, comments, profile changes, and application downloads.
INTRODUCTION: When a third party introduces ENDORSEMENTS: A feature that allows you to recognize the skills and expertise of your connections. Users can endorse their connections for skills they’ve listed on their profile, or make skill recommendations.
INVITATIONS: Is sent to an existing member or another individual not on LinkedIn to join or make a connection.
GROUPS: Provide a place for professionals in the same industry or with similar interests to share content, find answers, post and view jobs, make business contacts, and establish themselves as industry experts. Users can join a maximum of 50.
RECOMMENDATIONS: A comment written by a LinkedIn member to recognize or commend a colleague, business partner, or student.
LINKEDIN 25
BEST PRACTICES THE DO’S AND DONT’S
RULE
DON’T SYNC SOCIAL MEDIA
RULE
DON’T SKIP ACCOUNT CUSTOMIZATION
RULE
BROWSE LINKEDIN PRIVATELY
RULE
ASK FOR RECOMMENDATIONS STRATEGICALLY
01 02 03 04 26 LINKEDIN
Stop pushing your social updates to your LinkedIn status. Each network has a different audience, so syndicating your updates is generally not a good idea. Avoid using apps that allow you to feed your Twitter and Facebook updates directly into your LinkedIn profile. Instead, aim to be more deliberate about what you’re posting to LinkedIn and know whom you’re trying to reach with your updates.
The many options provided on the Account & Settings page might seem overwhelming at first, and you might be tempted to skip this step. Setting aside some time to customize the options on this page, often a one-time task, can pay off in the long run. By customizing your settings, you’ll better protect your privacy, receive only the specific information you want, and avoid any unpleasant surprises regarding the way LinkedIn handles your personal data.
If you’re looking for a new job, beware: whenever you browse a LinkedIn member’s profile, that person is alerted along with details about you. How much information the person sees, whether it’s a vague title description or your name, is up to you. If you prefer to remain anonymous, navigate to your Privacy and Settings page and click “Select what others see when you’ve viewed their profile” under the Privacy Controls subhead in the Profile tab.
If you’re going to request recommendations, don’t send them out to everyone you know. Think about who, specifically, can share valuable insight. When requesting your recommendation, ask for recommendations on specific projects or work history that you know they’ll have something to say about. It helps them come up with something easy to say, and lets them know that their recommendation is important enough to you that you’ll make it personal.
RULE
POST APPROPRIATE STATUS UPDATES
RULE
WRITE BACK, NO MATTER WHAT
RULE
AVOID GENERIC MESSAGES
RULE
LIST SEARCHABLE “SKILLS”
RULE
HAVE A PROFESSIONAL PROFILE PICTURE
05 06 07 08 09
Although LinkedIn status updates can cross-post with Twitter, be careful only to post professional comments to LinkedIn. This means no posts about the weather or your crazy cat. The best status updates are like snippets from a networking conversation: quick notes about events you’re attending, accomplishments you’re proud of, articles or books you’ve read, and career announcements; like a new position. Keep updates interesting, brief, and professional.
If someone contacts you, acknowledge the message. Even if you don’t have a real response for their question or request, it’s still polite to write back. Ignored messages hurt, and every connection merits a response. If you’re too busy to take care of it at the moment, just say so. Chances are, your connection will understand.
Whether it’s congratulating someone on a new role or requesting a connection with someone, you will get a whole lot further with your networking efforts if you take some time to personalize your correspondence. When you connect to someone for the first time on LinkedIn, don’t just use the generic message option, “I’d like to add you to my professional network on LinkedIn.” Take a few moments to write something personalized. It will make the recipient more open to your request and the message feel less spammy or indicate laziness.
There are a lot of skills LinkedIn recognizes, but if you write something obscure, it doesn’t do you much good. When you start typing a skill on your LinkedIn profile, make sure it appears in the dropdown menu. If it doesn’t, it may be spelled wrong, or it’s not a frequently searched item, which won’t help your resume get found by recruiters. Stick to the thousands of skills LinkedIn already has in the system and your profile will pop up more often in search results.
Be sure to keep your LinkedIn profile photo appropriate for business. Photos from the beach, images from your favorite sports team, or ones without you in them at all are not really appropriate. Take the time to get a professional photo, or just get a friend to snap a nice one of you dressed in interview attire. Try to get a good photo where you look respectable and friendly, and not too serious. It will help you put out the right impression.
LINKEDIN 27
Founded in 2010, by Kevin Systrom & Mike Krieger.
Instagram is an online photo-sharing, video-sharing and social networking service that enables its users to take pictures and videos, apply digital filters to them, and share them “instantly” on the IG network and a variety of social networking services. A distinctive feature is that it confines photos to a square shape, similar to Kodak Instamatic and Polaroid images. Users are also able to record and share short videos lasting for up to 15 seconds. The app is targeted toward mobile social sharing is available on Android & iPhone devices.
“born on the mobile phone”
28 INSTAGRAM
a hybird of instant camera & telegram
33piFcsIL&TviEdeRosS for
70% USERS log in once a day
200 MILLION active users
1.6 BILLION average daily likes
20 BILLION total photos shared
20 MINUTES average time per visit
60 MILLION photographs posted daily
INSTAGRAM 29
INSTAGRAM INSIGHT HASHTAGS FOR EVERYDAY OF THE WEEK
MONDAY #MCM
TUESDAY #TT
WEDNESDAY#WCW
#ManCrushMonday
#TransformationTuesday
#WomanCrushWednesday
Users upload photos of men that they have a crush on
Users post ‘before and after’ appearance makeovers
Users upload photos of females that they fancy
THURSDAY #TBT
FRIDAY #FN
SUNDAY #SS
#ThrowbackThursday
#FridayNight
#SelfieSunday
Users share a memory from the past to reminisce on good times
Users post highlights from their evening activities with friend
A day dedicated to uploading your self-portrait fun
30 INSTAGRAM
INSTAGRAM LINGO IG: Shorthand for “Instagram”.
PHOTO MAP: A world map that displays where your
IGERS: Refers to Instagram users/Instagrammers.
images were uploaded. In order to display images on your photo map, you must allow Instagram to access your GPS location.
NEWS: Notifications about the most recent activity revolving around your profile, as well as activity performed by the IGers you follow. The “News” section is signified by the speech bubble with the heart inside.
EXPLORE: Images that are trending (recently pop-
INSTAGRAM DIRECT: It’s a photo messaging
FILTER: Overlays that you can add to your images.
feature where, you can send videos or pictures to a few select friends.
Filters include: aged; vintage looks; black and white; polaroid-esque; and high-contrast.
SELFIE: A type of self-portrait photograph, typically
SEARCH: Accessible from within your profile by
taken with a hand-held digital camera or camera phone held at arm’s length or in a mirror for the purpose of uploading it to social networking sites
clicking on the navigational star icon. Allows you to search for users based on their @handle or real name, also allows you to search for #hashtags.
TILT-SHIFT: This adds a focus point, a line or circle,
INSTAMEET/INSTAWALK: Public Instagram
to the user’s image –allowing for effects such as miniaturization and to bring an area of focus to the image.
events where IGers get together and take images of local scenery. Instameets are a great way to gain local followers and spread the word about your practice.
LUX EFFECT: An auto-enhance button that enriches
ular) on the IG social network. The “Explore” section is signified by the compass-looking navigational star.
the colors in your image.
PROFILE: Your profile, noted by the I.D. card icon,
@HANDLE: A method of referring to another IGers
showcases all of your images and gives you access to your photo map, followers, following, and a search feature.
within a comment by appending the “@” sign before their username. When you mention someone’s handle, they receive a notification that they were mentioned.
GEOTAG: Tagging images with the geographical coordinates referencing where they were taken.
FEED: The stream of images that appears on your homepage. Feeds are linear and update chronologically, with the most recent posts from those you follow displaying near the top.
INSTAGRAM 31
BEST PRACTICES THE DO’S AND DONT’S
RULE
DON’T POST DSLR PHOTOS
RULE
POST INSTANTLY IN “REAL TIME”
RULE
SHOW A LITTLE ‘SELFIE’ CONTROL
RULE
USE INSTAGRAM DIRECT
01 02 03 04 32 INSTAGRAM
Don’t be a “camera cheat,” and import high definition photos taken with a more professional camera. There’s a reason Instagram was made only for mobile devices, because they wanted you to take photos with your phone. Instagram is meant to celebrate the beauty of mobile and spontaneous photography. Some see it as cheating, others see it as tacky. If you must post DSLR pics, make sure to label them as such (#dslr, #notphonepic).
It’s called “Instagram” because scenes are captured—you guessed it—instantly. The social network is an amazing portal into real-time moments around the web, so track as close to real time with your posts as you can. If you’ve got something good to share, why wait? If your photo is good enough to share later, be sure to tag it as a #latergram. Post in real-time as much as possible and consider geotagging your image with a location. People feel connected when they know what you’re doing in the moment.
Don’t post too many photos of YOU. Constant shots of you posing in front of a mirror only sends the message that you’re vain and need public approval. Get some friends in the shot! Pictures you take of yourself might be fine, but too many “selfie” shots annoy followers. Who wants to see three or four Instagrams of a face in different positions? Refrain from taking MySpace pictures and flip that camera around on someone else occasionally.
If you don’t know already, Instagram has released a Direct option that lets you privately share photos with specific individuals. It’s kind of like sending a Direct Message on Twitter – it keeps your profile clear of photos you’d rather not have everybody see, doesn’t annoy your followers by flooding their feeds and is a simple way to photo-converse with people who care.
RULE
AVOID FLOODING THE FEED
RULE
POST ORIGINAL PHOTOS
RULE
KEEP EFFECTS DOWN TO A MILD ROAR
RULE
NO BLURRY PHOTOS AND VIDEOS
RULE
MATCH TWITTER & INSTAGRAM USERNAMES
05 06 07 08 09
In Insta-land, quality rules over quantity. That means that posting five photos of the same content/ event all in a row is a major no-no. Posting up to three photos a day is a good rule of thumb. Don’t over saturate your feed, but do plan and spread out your uploads. You may lose followers if you “binge upload” and clutter your readers’ feeds. If you want to share several images, consider creating a video or using an app like PicStitch to create a collage.
Instagram is about photography. Do everyone a favor and don’t stock your Instagram account with screen captures, memes, texts, quotes, infographics, and pins. Instagram is for *pictures.* This should go without saying, but, don’t steal pictures and repost them as your own. Repurposing photography comes off as a lazy way to participate in Instagram. It’s super bad form. And illegal. Take and share your own real photos. Consider using Overgram to add text subtlety.
It is good to make your images aesthetically pleasing and artistic, but be careful about using too many filters. A photo that has too many effects may be overwhelming and unappealing to followers. Overdoing effects can turn a normal image into a high contrast, grainy mess. If a scene looks like it could never happen in the real world, the effect has gone too far. Don’t rely on HDR or extreme filters to make a photo interesting. Instead play around with angles and try to give your audience a unique perspective they haven’t seen before.
Unless your Instagram trademark is some seriously skillful photo-impressionism, try to post shots that are in focus. Considering that it’s a purely visual social network, Instagrammers aren’t crazy about stuff they can’t see. We are all very visual people, which is why Instagram is as popular as it is. We love to see details and blurring photographs isn’t going to fetch you a lot of likes. And while you’re at it, don’t overdo the selective focus option (the little droplet symbol).
Those who follow you on Instagram will likely want to follow you on Twitter as well, but if it means wading through all your online identities, they’ll give up quickly. Keep it simple by using the same handle on each. In order to be tagged in both Instagram and Twitter, your usernames must match. It should be as easy as possible for your followers to mention you.
INSTAGRAM 33
Back in 2009, Pinterest arrived on the social media
scene. It was developed by a Silicon valley company called Cold Brew Labs, founded by Ben Silbermann, Paul Sciarra, and Evan Sharp and launched as a closed beta in March 2010. Since then, it has attracted millions of loyal users and is one of the fastest growing social media platforms. Pinterest is a virtual pinboard, or bulletin board of sorts that allows you to find images on the web and organize them into categorized boards you create for yourself. According to Pinterest, the main idea behind the site is to “connect everyone in the world through the things they find interesting!�
15 MINUTES average time per visit
85 MILLION unique visitors each month
34 PINTEREST
THE 3 MOST POPULAR PIN CATEGORIES
d.i.y crafts
weddings
food+recipes
OVER 80% 700 MILLION of pins are repins
80 %
total # pinterest users
gender demographics
WOMEN
PINTEREST 35
PINTEREST INSIGHT TRAITS OF THE PERFECT PIN
LITTLE BACKGROUND Use a compelling background that doesn’t take up more than 40% of your image. Images with less than 30 percent of whitespace are repinned the most.
NO HUMAN FACES Images with bodies posed at an angle and don’t show faces received 23% more repins. Less than 1/5 of images on Pinterest today have the presence of faces.
LIGHT AND COLOR Images with 50% color saturation get repinned and liked four times more often than those with 100%, and ten times more than black and white images.
36 PINTEREST
PORTRAIT STYLE Vertically oriented images perform better than those that are horizontally oriented. Images with an aspect ratio between 2:3 and 4:5 get 60% more repins.
VIBRANT COLORS The most repinned images have multiple dominant colors and get three times more the amount of likes and repins than those with just a single, dominant color.
VARIETY OF REDS Images that are predominantly red or orange receive about twice as many likes and repins than images that are blue. The color red attracts the eyes attention.
PINTEREST LINGO PIN: An online visual bookmark that links to the orig-
FOLLOWING: The process of choosing to be notified
inal webpage source of the image. A pin can be either found on another website or uploaded from personal digital devices. Each pin is accompanied by a short description added by a pinner.
of another pinner’s pins. You may opt to follow one, multiple, or all of a pinner’s boards.
PINNING: The act of posting, uploading or adding visual content to the user’s Pinterest board.
ACCOUNT VERIFICATION: The process of asso-
BOARD: A collection of images or videos that you curate, (collect, refine, manage). It resembles a virtual corkboard and is a “space” where a pinner post, archive, and organize items of interest. Each board is assigned to a specific category.
ciating a website with your account.
PROFILE: Personal information about you or your
RE-PIN/RE-PINNING: To repost or republish an
business personal information you’ve decided to share with other users. This can include your name, work history, education, interests, and website.
image someone else has already pinned on your own Pinterest account, under your chosen board.
HOME FEED: Displays collection of pins from pinners and boards you follow. It is updated every time someone you follow adds a pin.
PINNERS: The collective term for Pinterest users SECRET BOARDS: Boards that are secret and only viewable to you and people you have authorized. Currently, each user can create up to three boards.
PIN IT BOOKMARKLET: A downloadable app or plugin for web browsers that allows Pinterest users to pin content to account while searching the web.
GROUP BOARD: A pinboard on which two or more users can pin content on.
DESCRIPTIONS: The words you use to clarify what a pin contains. Descriptions are visible below each pin and are capable of being repinned.
LIKE: A feature that lets users quickly give positive affirmation that they care for a pin. “Liking” a Pin allows you to save that Pin without pinning it to one of your own boards. You can see everything you have “Liked” on Pinterest on the Likes tab of your profile page.
CATEGORY: A system of classification for Pinterest pinboards. Pinterest categories allow pinboards to be found via the inherent Pinterest navigation.
COMMENT: Another pinner’s thoughts attributed to a particular pin. Comments are visible by any pining viewing that pin.
PINTEREST 37
BEST PRACTICES THE DO’S AND DONT’S
RULE
ALWAYS SOURCE IMAGES PROPERLY
RULE
PROVIDE CONTEXT FOR YOUR PINS
RULE
PICK AESTHETICALLY PLEASING IMAGES
RULE
NEVER TRICK USERS TO DRIVE TRAFFIC
01 02 03 04 38 PINTEREST
Sourcing the original link is the unspoken cardinal rule of Pinterest. Whenever you find and post an image to Pinterest, make sure to include a link to the original source. Tell us either the name of the website or the name of photographer who owns the rights to the image. Google has a great database of images, but don’t pin from the search engine’s website. Take the time to do the extra click or two and find the original source of the photo. This way credit can be given to the owner of the image when it’s reposted on Pinterest.
Make sure you write a descriptive caption for every image you post. This is a courtesy to your readers and a chance for you to tell why they should click on the link. Pinterest’s search results are based on pin descriptions, so when describing your pin use words that you think others will search for. This will make it easier for users to find your pins. Give thoughtful descriptions that are positive and highlight a product, idea, or service. Negativity is frowned upon.
Pinterest is all about the visual stimulation. People are inclined to scan through their Pinterest home screen, quickly flipping through images until something catches their eye. If you want your pins to stand out, they have to include engaging, beautiful, and adorable images. Make sure you choose an image that isn’t too small, blurry, or low quality. Pinterest requires images to be at least 100x200 pixels. We want people to see and experience your Pin!
Unfortunately, some dishonest users have embedded incorrect links with their images so that when a follower clicks on an image, they’re redirected to an unrelated website or blog (giving the site extra page views and, as a result, extra income). This is a major no-no and a surefire way to lose followers. Instead, make sure you are linking only to relevant content.
RULE
DON’T BECOME A PIN ADDICT/ PIN STEADILY
RULE
DO REPORT INAPPROPRIATE CONTENT
RULE
ALWAYS PIN FROM A BLOG’S PERMALINK
RULE
ORGANIZE YOUR BOARDS
RULE
DON’T INCLUDE ENTIRE TEXT
05 06 07 08 09
High quality is key in the digital world and it’s what Pinterest followers love most. Pinning and repinning constantly for long periods of time will fill up the page for your followers. If you see lots of pins you would like to repin and you wish to spread them out, Like some of them and then go to your ‘likes’ page later and repin them then. Alternatively you could repin them to a secret board and then repin them for public view later. Don’t go pin-crazy if you want to keep your followers.
Inform Pinterest about “objectionable content.” As a member of the Pinterest community you have a responsibility to report content that’s against Pinterest’s Terms of Service and Acceptable Use Policy. Help Pinterest make the site and the user experience better by reporting inappropriate content that violates the Pinterest terms of use. This includes pornographic content, hateful content, or offensive content. If you find this type of content on Pinterest, don’t hesitate to click the Report Content link.
When you want to pin an item from a blog, there’s a right way and a wrong way to do it. The right way is to pin to the permanent link (permalink) to the specific blog post.The wrong way is to pin to the blog’s main URL. When you pin to a post’s permalink,people who click the pin always go to the specific blog post that contains the item of interest.
Make sure your pins are found by categorizing your boards into one of 32 existing categories on Pinterest! This will make your boards easier to navigate and also easier to find by Pinterest users. This way when people use Pinterest’s categories, or the Explore tool on their mobile app, your pins will show in the correct categories. That said, some boards are meant to be a jumble of categories, but usually those boards are named something like “Hodgepodge,” so we know what we’re getting ourselves into before we start following.
Don’t copy and paste the entire text of a tutorial, recipe, blog etc. into your pin. Copying and pasting verbatim the images text eliminates the need to visit the original source, completely removing the owner of that idea from the equation. Pinterest is intended to be a vehicle for reaching great content, and not a one-stop-shop. A 500 character limit is in place for a reason.
PINTEREST 39
SUMMARY in conclusion,
it has become exceedingly clear that social media is and will continue to be an integral part of our lives for decades to come. While many of us are enjoying the benefits of social media, we are also grappling with how best to understand and even prevent the related unintended consequences. People increasingly take the immediacy of connection for granted. Virtual manners are a must when navigating these networks, however, especially because your interactions may be viewed by others. These principles of Smetiquette are based both in practicality and common sense, but also on the understanding of the fast-paced and evolving nature of online social networks. Ultimately, social media platforms and the internet trends change so quickly, it’s hard to predict how conversation will work online in the coming years. But one thing remains the same: People like to be treated with respect, care and thoughtfulness online. Who knew the Golden rule: do unto others as you would have them do unto you, would prevail in our online realm too. Like all disruptive innovations and shifts in cultural norms, we will wait to determine the eventual outcome. For now, we must remember that even though we can publicly express our various opinions on almost any and every issue at any given time, this new freedom brings substantial responsibility.
There are interesting days ahead!
40 SUMMARY
so what’s next,
Aside from the most popular social networking sites that we know and love, there are many new upcoming platforms that will further challenge our digital communication skills. Here are a few examples of new type of social networking sites on the rise. PATH: One of several new social networks that seeks to improve on Facebook by making the experience more private and personal: Users are limited to 150 friends on the mobile-only service. A user is instructed to only add his or her closest friends, or anyone you’d invite to your birthday party; the average Path user has 40 connections. Path is sort of like a daily online journal that you open to your friends: You can post photos and videos using your smartphone’s camera, update your location, share what songs you’re listening to and more. Path has been praised for its intimate feeling and clean design.
POSE: A mobile and online community where users can snap pics of their outfits or beauty accessories to share with other users, has been called the Instagram of the fashion world. With a clean, tile-based, visual layout reminiscent of Pinterest, this free app operates like an interactive fashion magazine.
ROAMZ:This is an example of a new trend of app sites called social-local-mobile (SoLoMo) networks. SoLoMo apps are social networks based on connecting you with people in the same local proximity. A mobile app for Android and iPhone, Roamz brings in information from Twitter, Foursquare, Instagram and Facebook to let you know what cool stuff is happening around you “where the locals go,” it claims. That’s the real draw of Roamz. It’s a social network where you can post status updates and photos and also get information about the places nearby.
SUMMARY 41
42 APPENDIX
APPENDIX
APPENDIX 43
RESOURCES BOOKS & LITERATURE LIKEABLE SOCIAL MEDIA: How to Delight Your Customers, Create an Irresistible Brand, and Be Generally Amazing on Facebook (And Other Social Networks) by Dave Kerpen
SOCIAL MEDIA MASTERY (A DAILY ACTIONS GUIDE): 75 Daily Challenges to Help you Expand your Reach, Build your Platform, and Establish your Online Authority by Tara Ross
HOW TO DEVELOP A SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGY IN 7 EASY STEPS by Anne Maybus, Michelle Tupy
TWITTER TIPS, TRICKS, AND TWEETS by Paul McFedries NETIQUETTE (ON-LINE ETIQUETTE): Tips for Adults & Teens: Facebook, MySpace, Twitter! Terminology….and more by Michelle Cimino
CIVILITY IN THE DIGITAL AGE: How Companies and People Can Triumph over Haters, Trolls, Bullies and Other Jerks (Que Biz-Tech) by Andrea Weckerle
CYBERSAFE: Protecting and Empowering Kids in the Digital World of Texting, Gaming, and Social Media by Gwenn Schurgin O’Keeffe
LOL...OMG!: What Every Student Needs to Know About Online Reputation Management, Digital Citizenship and Cyberbullying by Matt Ivester
500 SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING TIPS: Essential Advice, Hints and Strategy for Business: Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google+, YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn, and More! by Andrew Macarthy
THE CULTURE OF CONNECTIVITY: A Critical History of Social Media by Jose van Dijck
44 APPENDIX
ONLINE SOURCES THE BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO SOCIAL MEDIA! http://moz.com/beginners-guide-to-social-media
JUAN ENRIQUEZ: YOUR ONLINE LIFE, PERMANENT AS A TATTOO http://www.ted.com/talks/juan_enriquez_how_to_think_about_digital_tattoos Looks at the surprisingly permanent effects of digital sharing on our personal privacy. He shares insight from the ancient Greeks to help us deal with our new “digital tattoos.”
ALESSANDRO ACQUISTI: WHY PRIVACY MATTERS http://www.ted.com/talks/alessandro_acquisti_why_privacy_matters The line between public and private has blurred in the past decade, both online and in real life, and Alessandro Acquisti is here to explain what this means and why it matters.
MOVIES & FILMS DISCONNECT (2012) A drama centered on a group of people searching for human connections in today’s wired world. We see how the wrong use of social media can create immense problems in the everyday lives of normal individuals. We see how using the internet can ruin relationships, destroy privacy and even decimate lives. This is a solemn reminder that social media are tools which have to be used ethically and carefully.
GENERATION SOCIAL: A SOCIAL MEDIA FILM (2012) A film about how our inherent social nature is driving social media to expand and determine cultural changes of our future.
TERMS AND CONDITIONS MAY APPLY (2013) A documentary that exposes what corporations and governments learn about people through Internet and cell phone usage, and what can be done about it ... if anything. If you ever wondered what’s at stake when you press an “I Agree” button on the internet, then this movie is a must watch for you.
INREALLIFE (2013) This is a documentary about teenagers and children who begin using social media from a very tender age. The movie shows all the downsides and problems that might occur when juveniles spend too much of their life online.
APPENDIX 45
GLOSSARY AVATAR: A picture or a graphic that represents you online. This could be your actual image or something completely different (e.g a caricature of yourself).
BLOG: A word that was created from two words:
or phrase preceded by a “#.” Example: #yourhashtag. Hashtags are commonly used to show that a tweet, a Twitter message, is related to an event or conference, online or offline.
“web log.” Blogs are usually maintained by an individual or a business with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in reverse-chronological order. “Blog” can also be used as a verb, meaning to maintain or add content to a blog.
INSTAGRAM: A photo sharing application that lets
CHAT: Refer to any kind of communication over the
INTERNET: A global system of interconnected com-
users take photos, apply filters to their images, and share the photos instantly on the Instagram network and other social networks like Facebook, Flickr, Twitter, and Foursquare. The app is targeted toward mobile social sharing.
internet but traditionally refers to one-to-one communication through a text-based chat application commonly referred to as instant messaging applications.
puter networks which host a variety of applications that allow users to communicate & interact with each other.
CYBERBULLYING: Willful and repeated harm in-
site that is mainly used for professional networking.
flicted through the use of computers, cell phones, and other electronic devices.
MEME: A meme on the internet is used to describe a
FACEBOOK: A social utility that connects people with friends and others who work, study, and live around them. Facebook is the largest social network in the world.
FORUMS: An online discussion site; people looking to discuss particular issues or needing support post threads (a message) on the forum or message board in hopes to gain more information or start a conversation
HASHTAG: A tag used on the social network Twitter as a way to annotate a message. A hashtag is a word
46 APPENDIX
LINKEDIN: A business-oriented social networking
thought, idea, joke, or concept to be shared online. It is typically an image with text above and below it, but can also come in video and link form.
MESSAGING: A feature within many social sites that allows users to send messages to each others’ in-boxes within the site or to chat in real time; allows for communication without sharing e-mail addresses.
MICROBLOG: Blogging tools that feature short posts, as opposed to journal-style posts. Users are usually restricted to posting a few lines of text, or uploading individual images and videos. Microblogging is
particularly common for posting quick updates and distributing content via mobile devices.
content easier to organize and find.
PERMALINK: An address or URL of a particular
agree to use a forum or other web-based place for creating or sharing content. Check before agreeing what rights the site owners may claim over your content.
post within a blog or website.
PINTEREST: A visual discovery tool that people
TERMS OF SERVICES: The basis on which you
use to collect ideas for their different projects and interests.
TRAFFIC: Amounts of data sent and received by
PHOTO-SHARING: Communities allows mem-
TWITTER: An online social networking and microb-
bers to upload their own pictures, rate and comment on other people’s pictures, and share pictures with others. Some of these sites incorporate photo editing features and provide people with private libraries that they may share with only people they invite.
logging service that enables users to send and read short 140-character text messages, called “tweets”.
PLATFORM: The framework or system within which tools work; That platform may be as broad as mobile telephony, or as narrow as a piece of software that has different modules like blogs, forums, and wikis in a suite of tools.
POST: Content, in any format, placed on a website or the act of publishing content on a website.
PRIVACY SETTINGS: An option many social
visitors to a Website, Webpage, or social media site.
SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION (SEO): The process of improving the volume and quality of traffic to a web site from search engines via “natural” (“organic” or “algorithmic”) search results.
SOCIAL MEDIA: A category of Internet-based resources that integrate user-generated content and user participation. This includes, but is not limited to, social networking sites (Facebook, MySpace), microblogging sites (Twitter), photo- and video-sharing sites (Flickr, YouTube), wikis (Wikipedia), blogs, and news sites (Digg, Reddit).
media sites offer to allow a user to determine the level to which their information is made available to others.
SOCIAL NETWORKS: Online platforms where us-
WEB 2.0: A term coined by O’Reilly Media in 2004
UPLOAD: To transfer data from a personal computer
to describe blogs, wikis, social networking sites and other Internet-based services that emphasize collaboration and sharing, rather than less interactive publishing (Web 1.0). It is associated with the idea of the Internet as platform.
or device to a larger entity such as a website.
TAGS: A keyword or term associated and as-
become increasingly popular across the Web.
signed to an item of content (i.e. blog post, video, photo, etc.). Usually added to an item of content to enhance search engine optimization and make it
ers can create profiles, share information, and socialize with others using a range of technologies.
URL: Uniform Resource Locator; the global address of documents & resources found on the World Wide Web.
VIRAL: Term used to describe online content that has VIDEO SHARING: Members upload, develop, share, comment, like, and rate video content online.
APPENDIX 47
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50 APPENDIX
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THE END... This single volume was designed and hand bound by Lia DiValentin. The text is set in Chrono with Din Condensed as display headers and Madita as decorative headline. Printed on a digital press in the spring of 2014. Designed and bound at George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia. This book would not have been possible without the wisdom and guidance of my professor Maureen Lauren. Maureen, thank you for providing practical advice and encouragement. It is an honor to be your student and you will be greatly missed! Also, I would like to thank my editor, Paula, for cleaning up this manuscript and getting it ready to submit. Finally, I would like to give a shout out to my fellow classmates; may we all flourish and excel in the next chapter of our lives!
DiValentin Books Fairfax, Virginia U.S.