Social Media Rules
After my recent involvement in the Blog Carolinas Social Media conference, I have been thinking about our use of social media tools a lot more. I blog. I IM. I use my telephone to get online, to text message and to email.I begun using these methods of communication more, sometimes to avoid being distracted by another person’s physical presence. But are these communication tools as effective or even as appropriate as face-to-face communication?We should use these tools with care. Be smart. We should be careful to be conscious of when and where personal and impersonal communication is appropriate.In a society where people fear rejection, text messaging and e-mailing may seem like an easy way to ease the damage. Cancelling a date or an appointment through a few words in a text is simpler than calling and hearing the disappointment in a person’s voice. Using SMS language in a professional email may be a faster way to get the message across, but is it appropriate? The fact that we increasingly find nothing wrong with this impersonal way of communicating important and personal messages is a sign of the changing times.
To help you avoid SMS and text-message mistakes, TheFeature.com composed a top 10 list of texting guidelines. Take note smart readers:
- Common courtesy still rules. Contrary to popular belief, composing an SMS while you’re in a face-to-face conversation with someone is just about as rude as taking a voice call.
- Remember that SMS is informal. SMS shouldn’t be used for formal invitations or to dump your girlfriend or boyfriend. The casualness of SMS diminishes the strength and meaning of the message.
- Don’t get upset if you don’t get a reply. Before you text someone and get frustrated at the lack of a response, be sure that they’re familiar with how to use the service, and that their carrier will accept messages from yours.
- Be aware of your tone. It is extremely difficult to discern tone in text messages, just as in e-mail. What seems to you to be a completely innocuous message may be grossly misinterpreted by the recipient, causing certain discomfort if not irreparable harm.
- Don’t SMS while you’re driving. Talking on the phone is bad enough. You won’t know what hit you – or what you hit – if you are pounding out a message on your keyboard.
- Leave the slang to the kids. Don’t expect your stodgy superiors at work to be hip to the lingo of the SMS streets. And don’t expect to win points with your kids by trying to be cool, either.
- Remember that SMS can be traced. Anonymous messages – if you must send them -are still best sent from Web sites.
- Be conscientious of others’ schedules. Don’t assume that because you are awake, working, not busy, or sober that the person you’re texting is as well. Many a pleasant slumber have been interrupted by recurring “beep-beep…beep-beeps” of messages.
- If it’s immediate, make a voice call. If you can’t get through and your text message is ignored, there’s probably a good reason. There are still some times when people don’t even have a thumb free to respond.
- Remember that your phone does have an off button. There are very, very few things in the world that absolutely cannot wait.
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