Monday, April 20, 2009

Facebook Etiquette

One is who one's friends are on Facebook, and for this reason, there are rules about how to use Facebook.

  1. Only make friends with people you know.
  2. Tag friends in photos only with their prior permission, and post only flattering photos of all friends and family members. Photos should be worth 1000 positive words.
  3. Sass will bite you in the a** every time. Keep all comments positive, please.
  4. Do not walk away/leave your Facebook page on/open in a public place (office or library) as someone else could access and alter your private profile information.
  5. Do Not change your relationship status without your partner's knowledge. That is just tacky and mean.
  6. Do Not over "Poke" friends without their prior permission and Do Not over "send" gifts, Easter Eggs, pillow fights, snowball fights, etc. without the friend's permission. It is annoying. We all have busy lives. We do not have time to constantly "Poke" back, "Send" back, "find" the Easter Egg, etc.
  7. Please, refrain from putting down what you ate for dinner. No one cares, unless you had dinner at The White house, Buckingham Palace or 300 feet up in the air on one of those "Sky Dinner" adventures. Keep your information interesting.
  8. How can one possibly have 556 friends, and if one does, how can one possibly keep up with all of them? Please, Facebook is not a popularity contest. Also know, every time you accept a friend, you are opening up your information to that friend and their friends. Control yourself!
  9. Do Not make other friends read your mind. When posting information Wall to Wall, keep the information complete and whole. Do not post a reply from some other friend who sent you a question privately. Make lunch plans with friends using the "send a message" feature.
  10. Be Very Careful of posting health issues on Facebook. If one must post health issues, do so only with prior permission from the patient and be consistent in updating the information. Other friends who may not be in touch regularly may not know what is going on, and you can scare friends by posting poor health information. Remember what your Mother taught you about religion and politics. Even in our modern day, one should still be very wary of posting religious thoughts or political opinions.
  11. Read the fine print when taking quizzes. You are allowing Facebook and those companies giving the quizzes access to your information and your friends' information.

On the whole, mind your public babble on your "Wall" and "Wall to Wall". Be careful, be positive, keep it interesting and have fun!