A brief respite from the web analytics thread….

In the last few days I have seen an alarming number of incidents related to carefree social networking that led to embarrassing consequences.  Therefore, it seems a particularly opportune time to offer some recommendations for safe and effective social networking, particularly when it comes to social networking for professional purposes:

1. Think twice before posting any information that you may one day regret – You have no idea where these posts will eventually land.   Bill Maher recently found this out when he mindlessly tweeted a “brain fart” about new coverage related to Haiti, and was surprised to hear it quoted later on “60 Minutes.”

1. Don’t give away valuable data – You probably don’t own your posted information on social networking sites. While this is issue is still controversial, don’t post anything you want to “own.”

1. Don’t post anything you might want to erase – Whatever you blog, post, or Tweet, is persistent. That means you can’t erase it; ever. If you think this is theoretical, you might want to check out the Internet Way Back Machine. While social networking data is not available from this site, it is representative of the technologies available to store digital data, including blogs and web sites.

1. Be careful who you give your username and passwords to – There are a lot of good social networking and Twitter aggregation, notification, and monitoring services. I use a bunch of these and they provide valuable services. Many of these services need your social networking credentials to work. Be wary of who keeps these and where they are stored.  Read the fine print on the agreement before you fork over your username and passwords to companies you don’t know.

1. Be selective in who you befriend online – there is a tendency to try and build as big a network as possible online. Think twice about who you add to your network.  Increasingly, online marketers are using social networks to “cut through the noise.” If you don’t want to be spammed, don’t add every Tom, Dick, and Harry to your network. On Twitter, feel free to block people you don’t want following you.

1. Segment your online persona – pick the appropriate social venue for each type of social connection.  I find it useful to befriend professional acquaintances on LinkedIn and friends and family on Facebook.  Special networks, built upon tools like Ning, let you connect with people in a very specific and focused context. Since these are focused, these sites tend to be more valuable professionally than some of the catch-all networks.

1. Segment your posts – send messages only to those people who you want to get your message. Social networks usually offer the ability to post to specific people or groups. Features like “Direct Message” and @ on Twitter, and the groups on Facebook, are particularly useful.

1. Don’t spread yourself too thin – concentrate on a small number of social sites and tools where your “crowd hangs out.” Another rookie mistake is to try and join too many sites. There are only so many hours in a day; you will burn out if you spread yourself too thin.

1. Don’t be a lurker – if you join a site, be active in some way. Offer valuable information.  By establishing yourself as someone with something to say, you provide value to other people; you become a source of good information and someone people will want to follow.

1. Don’t waste bits – stay away from the “wow, it’s raining” today type of posts. This is just plain annoying. I don’t care if it is cloudy in Topeka and it just clutters up my space.  Big “turn off” in my opinion.