Saturday, December 31, 2011

What I’d like to see LESS of in Social Media for 2012.


This list will piss off some of you. That’s not the intention. If you’re doing some of the actions below and you enjoy doing them then continue doing so. These are just my peeves. I’m hoping that you’ll agree with many of them (if not all). And, if this article makes you think about what you’re doing in social media land and you make a change, that’s okay too!

A dozen friends posting the same photo of a cat or a baby doing something silly.

Foul or demeaning language on Twitter. Why is this becoming the norm? It’s more creative not to curse. And then of course, I won’t block you.

Misuse of to and too, your and you’re, and there, their and they’re. There, I’ve said it; hope you’re happy too! But wait…here’s another one I just made a major faux pas on …bare and bear, as in “bear with us”! Yes, I used bare.

Social Media “experts” and “gurus” who post or tweet constantly but never comment on your posts or reply to your tweets…uh, that’s not social media or engagement folks, more like self-promotion.

The word rare used to describe a clip on YouTube. It’s not rare if it’s made available to a large portion of the world.

People who request to friend me on Facebook, they practically BEG me, so, after numerous messages, I oblige… then I never hear from them again. What’s up with that?

“Share-o-holic” tendencies. I’ve heard a sip or two a day (or is it a glass) can have some health benefits but not to the point of getting “tipsy”.

Use of personal profiles for business purposes. I’ll say it again and again, get a PAGE and stop trying to market to your friends. Please read this post and you’ll understand my rationale.

Excessive whining. Yeah, we all have beefs about something. Focus on resolution instead; ask me about how to FIX it.

Alcoholic beverage in hand for a LinkedIn profile. Seriously, do you think that’s going to help get you a job anywhere besides a liquor store?

People who follow back none or one on Twitter. Not engaging. Hello, ego.

Posting your family photos publicly. WHY would you want 800 million+ people on Facebook to see your private gatherings?

The same post from your personal profile and your business at the same time. And I’ve also seen an occurrence of THREE posts of the same thing at the same time. This goes back to separation of personal vs. business…which IS it?

Posting Tweets on Facebook with Twitter protocol.  All I can say is #pleasestopthispractice

Deactivating and reactivating your Facebook account on a regular basis. If you don’t want to post for a while, just post so. No need to freak people out wondering who unfriended them.

Automatic DMs on Twitter that start with “You’re cool”. How the heck would you know when you just started following me!

Using an apostrophe with every word that ends with an s. So much possession! Rule of thumb: It is highly more likely that an apostrophe shouldn’t be used, so just leave it out and you’ll be correct most of the time.

Request to play games, both in Facebook or Google+. You heard it here: I don’t play and I will not start. I’d rather engage you in a conversation, okay?

I WILL, however, respect your opinions whether or not I agree with them. Fair?

What’s on my wish list for 2012? To see more originality and more creativity. More from YOU.

Happy New Year! I wish you all the best. Let’s all make the next twelve months shine brightly!
Black Mountains, AZ. Photographed by me December 2011

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ouch! I feel like I try to engage but now find myself mostly guilty. Question for you --- with the use of text messaging in Pabby's Score, my newest novel, will you forgive me if I use u, ur, and urs?

Gerry Wendel said...

James, in abbreviated Twitterland and the quick, furious art of text messaging that is perfectly acceptable...so if the characters in your book are text messaging...no problem!

Unknown said...

4 and 11 piss me off, now I made you count didn't I?!! I know I have done some of these, but for some reason those bother me the most. Like who died and made them king/queen of the twitterverse!? Love this post! Happy New Year! Lisa

Unknown said...

Sort of in ur list, don't make ur picture a shot of ur child or especially ur baby, very inappropriate.

Gerry Wendel said...

Bethany, I thought about including that one. It is obviously a no-no for LinkedIn and Plaxo and any site that's mainly for professional purposes.

Hmmm....you know what? I'm thinking about writing a separate blog post on that one since it can be a very opinionated subject. So I'll say no more at this point.

Guy Sharwood said...

A lot of those get under my skin too, Gerry. I know a couple of people who activate/deactivate their accounts as the spirit moves them, and I'm considering unfriending them.

Anonymous said...

Yeah, I hate when I post on a business page to help promote a friend and they NEVER reciprocate. That's why, YOU, Ms. Moddy are so very awesome. Giving you the Queen of Networking crown.

Gerry Wendel said...

Ah! Someone understands how annoying the activate/deactivate account syndrome is!

And Wow! I earned a crown. Cool! I try to be help out as many folks as I can, and yes, it would be nice if people returned the favor. Two instances of that just happened actually; was asked to scratch a back, I did. Asked for a scratch back, and nothing. That won't stop my from helping out others though.

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Shelly said...

I get (and agree with) most of your opinions - but the one about using twitter conventions for posts on Facebook? There is a setting on twitter that automatically posts your tweets to Facebook, thus there will be hashtags and such. It's not a mistake or misuse, just a function of that setting, in my opinion.