20 Rules for Online Engagement —Do’s and Don’ts
What messages of love are you sending?
Marketers and other self-interested web users can be tempted to use online forums for self-promotion. Congregations can be tempted, too. Beware! Your readers can spot self-serving comments with 5G rapidity. It can harm your reputation more than it can help. Enter the conversation carefully and keep the readers of the online community in mind. Remember, no one likes to be sold!
Pinterest entered the scene with its image sharing social media platform. It was received as a breath of fresh air. Marketers quickly saw a new advertising tool. Now there is talk about how marketers have ruined the fun. It remains to be seen if marketers will curb their own behavior or if Pinterest will revise community rules.
2×2 encourages online dialog. Here are a few basic guidelines.
- Remember to share with a purpose. Be helpful. Be informative. Be clear. Be entertaining.
- Use your real name. No one takes hidden identities seriously and being honest about your identity is fundamental to building trust.
- Don’t pretend to be an authority if you are not. Consistent participation in forums is a way of creating authority, but don’t jump the gun. Build your reputation through conscientious commenting.
- Participate in dialogue but don’t try to sell your stuff at someone else’s fleamarket. There is NO delicate way to do this. You always come off looking crass and self-serving. It’s a real turn-off and others might report you to the moderator as inappropriate. Limit your self-promotion to adding your title, position, company or church name to your signature. That gives readers a choice. If they want to know more, they’ll find you.
- Share good things about others. If you know a good source that will further the dialog provide a link. It helps to build their reputation — and yours.
- Acknowledge sources of ideas you are sharing.
- Don’t bad talk your competition. Showcase your strengths, not other’s weaknesses. Leave the bad-talking to politicians.
- Keep your comments on point. Reread the thread to make sure you are adding to the conversation, not just repeating what others have said.
- Write with appropriate detail. If the forum tends to feature three-sentence thoughts, don’t write four paragraphs. On the other hand, if you are offering detailed help, use whatever length is appropriate to be truly helpful.
- Use standard English and complete sentences. Without the nuances of a physical presence, it is easy to get wrong impressions. Take the time to be as clear as possible. Using jargon and allowing typos impedes conversation. Communication is the goal. Remember, the internet is worldwide. Not all readers will understand colloquial shortcuts.
- Do not use vulgarity — ever.
- Proofread your comment at least three times. Reading it aloud is very helpful.
- Avoid direct criticism of individuals. Public figures are an exception.
- Correct your mistakes as quickly as possible.
- Be compassionate and forgiving for online gaffes. We all know how easy it is to click a button by mistake and send something with no way to call it back. If you notice an error, be gracious. Ignore it if it is innocuous. Notify the commenter privately if it is particularly embarrassing.
- Don’t use other people’s mistakes, once they are admitted, to stoke the fire under your own cause. Sometimes passionate threads result from misunderstanding. Reaction is appropriate right up until the originator of the thread admits an error. To continue online ranting after an apology has been made is taking advantage of another person’s mistakes and is hurtful.
- Be a voice of reason. Try to keep conversations on track and keep peace.
- Respect others privacy. Don’t share personal information without permission.
- If someone is abusing the forum, report it to the moderator. If you have a serious beef, handle it as privately as possible with a direct message.
- Remember the Golden Rule.