Week 5 Project (Claire Audrey) Due

Understanding Social Media.html

Online Netiquette and Social Media

Online Netiquette

Connecting with other people or even celebrities has become a significant pastime for many. But when approaching people, celebrities or otherwise, you need to maintain proper online behavior or etiquette. For example, Internet messages written in all capitals are read as yelling. "DID YOU DO YOUR HOMEWORK?" is interpreted differently from "Did you do your homework?"

Communicating online requires you to follow certain social conventions. These standards are sometimes referred to as "netiquette" and following them will help you become a better online communicator. Click on the following hyperlink to learn more about netiquette:

Netiquette

Recipients of e-mail or other social media messages (like a Facebook post) understand your message only from the words and format that you use. With this technology, people cannot hear your tone or see your facial expressions, so it is important to remember to choose your words carefully.

Emoticons are symbols formed by text letters that you can use to help the reader understand your message. An example of an emoticon is the smiley face. Showing an emoticon with your message is a way of clarifying things. However, when working in a professional setting, use emoticons sparingly as they can be perceived as unprofessional. Click on the following hyperlink to find out about popular text-based emoticons.

Emoticons: Fun text-based expressions

Representing Yourself Online

When communicating anytime, but especially online, it is inappropriate to misrepresent yourself. Misrepresenting your age or gender or entire identity online can lead to unfortunate consequences.

When using social networking or other online media, you should never say anything that you would not want to appear next to your picture somewhere on the Web. While you might think the Internet is a place to participate in open communication without consequence, the Internet and all of its forums must be used with caution. Be wise about your online activities, the messages you send, the communications and media you post, and whom you connect with through Web services such as social media. Remember that anything you put online stays there forever and may be publicly accessible. For example, many schools, employers, and even the authorities use social media sites to become familiar with candidates or even to get leads in civil or criminal issues. Click here to read about the Lindsey Stone incident, which received widespread media coverage and sparked much debate about online activity.

Each social networking site offers privacy settings that control how private or public your online profile is to others. While it is recommended that you make your profile private to strangers and less private to your friends, remember even if you set your privacy settings to the maximum, there is still a risk that your information could be accessed. This is because the privacy agreements you sign online are less private than they used to be. For example, when you click the "Like" button for a page or group on Facebook, you are telling a wide range of marketers that you have a certain preference. These marketers may use this information to direct promotional materials to you.