Making Friends - Online Social Networks

1. Get you in trouble at work or make it hard to get a job.
   
   HOW: Employers or potential employers can look you up on these sites.  Let’s say you’re interviewing for a job.  Your employer could check Facebook and see that you have inappropriate information on your webpage.  Or, they may just find out something about you that they don’t like or approve of (for example, drinking alcohol).  Based on what they see, they may assume you are irresponsible and not hire you.  Make sure that everything on your page is suitable for your employers to see as well as your family members and friends. 

2. Annoy others.
   
   HOW: By using these sites too frequently or by communicating too frequently with others, you could annoy them.  For example, sending 25 "tweets" a day could annoy your followers because they are not interested in reading that many tweets.

3. Make others feel uncomfortable.
   
   HOW: Asking others to be your "friend" if you don’t know them well could make someone uncomfortable.  Similarly, asking someone to be your "friend" more than once could also make someone feel uncomfortable.

4. Offend others.
   
   HOW:  You might post an opinion (i.e. religious, political, work-related) on your wall, on someone else’s wall, or in your status message.   Your opinion could offend people you know, as well as people you don’t know. 

1. Only post appropriate pictures:
   
   No nudity or revealing clothing.
   No sexually provocative pictures (sexy poses).
   No drugs or other illegal activities.
   No alcohol.
   No pictures making fun of race, ethnicity, sexual orientation.
   This means no posting pictures of YOU doing these activities as well as OTHERS doing these activities. 
   
   Once you post something on the internet, it can remain there forever.  So, think before you post pictures.  Before you post a picture, ask yourself these questions:
   
   "Would this picture make anyone mad or uncomfortable?"
   "Am I okay if anyone sees this picture?"
   
   
2. Do not post your home address or phone number.  This can be unsafe.  You do not know who is looking at your information and you don’t want to give away personal information.  Posting an email address is fine.
    
3. Set privacy settings on your webpage.  Certain sites, such as Facebook and Twitter, have privacy settings that only allow your "friends" to see your webpage.  This is a very good idea because it gives you control over who is viewing your information.  However, these settings are not perfect.  There are still ways other people can view your page, so you want to make sure it is suitable for all viewers, even when using privacy settings.
   
   
4. Things that are OK to post to your profile:
   
   
• Your email address
• Your birthday (but perhaps not the year)
• Your gender
• Your hometown and current city
• Your school
• Your occupation
• Whether you are in a relationship
• "Safe" pictures (no nudity, illegal activities, drinking alcohol, etc.)
• Interests, hobbies, activities
• Favorite books, movies, television shows, and music
• Online pages that you like or are affiliated with

You will often see people breaking the rules listed here.  However, that does not mean YOU should break these rules.

All of us use the Internet and sometimes it is easy to forget that there are real people on the other end.  Here are a few guidelines to remember when using Social Media Platforms and Internet Sites:

General communication:

• Remember, anything you post will be there to stay.
• Keep in mind that current and future employers, friends, associates might look up your internet and social media footprint – avoid posting anything negative or extreme.
• Always be polite and courteous – remember, people can’t see you in person.
• Be precise and clear in your wording to avoid misunderstandings.
• Treat people the way you want to be treated. 
• Only say things you would say to them in person- face to face.
• Always be truthful.
• Pictures and videos should be appropriate – and be ok to be seen by anybody.

Read before post:

• Do NOT post anything you might regret later. 
• Do NOT post anything you would not want the world to see.
• Assume everybody can see everything you post. 
• STOP, WAIT and consider before you hit “reply” or “send” on a post.
• RE-READ your comment or post, walk away and come back and read it again – if you like your post hit “send”.

Pay attention to the tone of your post/ text:

• Avoid negative comments, bad jokes, sarcasm or gossip.
• Consider other people’s feelings, AVOID hurting peoples feeling and/or cyber bullying.
• Think how your post, comment would make you feel if someone sent it to you.

Privacy

• ALWAYS protect your personal information
• Assume internet communication information is visible to anybody
• Stay Away from posting personal information including phone number, address, social security number, driver’s license information, etc.

Communication

• Write clear and complete sentences.
• Keep your message to the point.
• Use spell-check before sending any message.
• Use upper- and lowercase lettering. ALL capital letter messages give a negative impression and is taken as shouting.
• Limit abbreviations.

Other Notes

• Follow and observe all rules and guidelines set by whatever social media platform you are using (including but not limited to forum, blogs, discussion groups, etc.).
• When writing a text consider copyright laws – always cite your source and add the link to their website to your paper.
• Do not copy other people’s work and use it as your own.

Please remember – what you post on the internet is there to stay and for everybody to see.  Always use caution, manners and THINK before you hit “enter”!

The above list was compiled after reviewing various websites.  There are many sites that provide helpful tips regarding internet etiquette, safety, etc.  If you are interested in finding more information we suggest typing “internet safety” or “internet etiquette and rules” into your search engine.