What I don’t like about having so many friends is the lack of etiquette displayed by some. I had lunch the other day with my friend Susan RoAne and we were talking about online etiquette, or lack of etiquette. Susan is a networking expert and has written 6 books on the subject and given countless talks on the subject. She’s appalled at the way people act in social media sites like Facebook and Twitter.

I’m amazed at the lack of manners displayed by many online. I wonder if these rude people online are the same rude people we know in our offline lives. I’m sure someone is doing a study on the subject so please send me the results when the study is complete.

When I go to a networking event, I notice the most effective networkers are the ones that listen 80% of the time and ask questions the other 20% of the time. They rarely talk about themselves or their business. It’s all about the other person in the eyes (and ears) of the savvy networker.

On the other hand, we always run into the person that never stops talking about their accomplishments or their business. Their perspective is “it’s all about me” and they rarely hear a thing you say.

My theory is that these are the same people who become our “friends” online and immediately start spamming us with self-promotional emails on Facebook and endless self-promoting Tweets on Twitter.

Jake Matthews made a great post Social Networking 101: Basic Tips For Online and Offline Social Networking on his 10e20 blog that you need to check out. Jake gives some very sound, practical advice that will help most of us. Unfortunately the people that need these tips will probably gloss over when they start reading Jake’s tips. Join in the conversation we have going in the comments section of Jake’s post. I’d love to hear your take on social media networking.

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Thanks.

Ted