The Consequences Of Being Rude Online: 5 Things Not To Do In Online Discussions

Do As I Say, Not As  I Do
One of the mantras of joining the online global community is that what you post on the internet stays there forever and forever. We all have heard this so it always amazes me when I see some of the thing that people post in various types of online communal discussions. We always make sure to let our kids know not to post pictures or comments that they wouldn’t want college admissions folks to see.   Not everyone follows that advice themselves.

There are lots of places to post your thoughts and ideas online, for this article I’m focusing on the behaviors I see in Blog comment threads and Group discussions on forums such as LinkedIn or Focus.

A Double Edged Sword

The internet creates a level field where anyone can pretty much say whatever they like. This is a good thing for the most part. It gives you a chance to exercise your right of free speech. The other side of the sword is to remember that line from the Spiderman saga:  “With great power comes great responsibility.”

Sketiquette – 5 Behaviors To Avoid on Skype

The first time I saw a video phone call was the 1964 World’s Fair in Flushing, NY.

It’s come a long way since then.  Real-time video calling is completely unremarkable today. It’s just the norm. For some reason, though, we naturally tend to think of these interactions as telephone calls and not as face-to-face meetings.  If you think about it, it doesn’t  get much more F2F than staring at a screen with the other party’s face all up in your face.

I’ve noticed that sometimes we (this includes me) do things that we oddly would not do in person, but we are very comfortable doing them on a Skype or other video call.  So here are a few things to avoid.

5.   Jammies, stained sweats, strewn about hair, 2-day beards.   I’m not saying you must wear a vested suit or a prom dress, but certainly follow the same rules