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In This Issue
Social Media Etiquette: 10 Guidelines To Always Follow
Facebook Applications Compromise Users' Privacy
How To Twitter: A Presentation
Continuing Blogs from a Mad Man
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Welcome to the Claymanite.
In this issue of The Claymanite, we are headed back to the world of Social Media.

Our first story details 10 guidelines that one should always follow on Social Media sites. These are guidelines that make good sense, but even so, not everyone follows them.

Our second story demonstrates some awfully bad etiquette on the part of Facebook. It seems that several Facebook apps (applications) including popular games have been selling peoples' contact information to advertisers. Talk about bad manners!

Finally, we offer a tutorial on Twitter. If you've been thinking about making the plunge, this tutorial, covering the basics, should help you out.

We hope you find the information presented here useful, or, in the case of the Facebook story, a little bit frightening!

Speaking of frightening, we hope you have a safe and happy Halloween!
  
Social Media Etiquette: 10 Guidelines To Always Follow

holdingdoor
Social Media is a relatively new communications phenomenon but that is no excuse  for rude and sometimes crude behavior. And speed and brevity are not excuses for overlooking basic principles of social and business interaction. Why? It is simple. With Social Media, we are what we say and do.

Read More
eyespy
Facebook Applications Compromise Users' Privacy


If you're playing the games and participating in the different movie/tv trivia quizzes that Facebook has to offer, your personal identification could be compromised. A recent report from The Wall Street Journal indicates that many popular Facebook "apps" or applications on the social networking site have been sharing users' personal information.


Read More
How to Twitter: A Presentation
 
If you are thinking about jumping into Twitter but you don't really know where to start, take a look at this tutorial that Margie put together. It covers a lot of the basics.

If you are interested in using this kind of presentation technology, let us know. We think that this kind of online tutorial would be helpful for training sessions, sales meetings, and more.
Continuing Blogs from a Mad Man
Is Apple going corporate? Read Larry's blog and voice your opinions!
CrisisCommunication 
Social Media Etiquette: 10 Guidelines To Always Follow
 holdingdoor
Social Media is a relatively new communications phenomenon but that is no excuse  for rude and sometimes crude behavior. And speed and brevity are not excuses for overlooking basic principles of social and business interaction. Why? It is simple. With Social Media, we are what we say and do.

The words and images we send out take on a life of their own and each of us must take care to be sure we say what we mean and mean what we say. However, it is even more important that we take responsibility for our words and the images we upload. Numerous examples of inappropriate behavior through Social Media come to mind. Recently, a number of stories have been reported about how Social Media bullying has resulted in the suicide of several young people. Although the media focuses on the victims of the bullying, the law is focusing on the perpetrators.

In business, employers are reviewing Facebook, blogs, and other Social Media sites to gain additional information on prospective employees. That picture that is so funny to one's friends may have a whole different impact on an employer. And that old reliable "thank you" email sent after the interview can reveal a great deal, too, especially when appropriate grammar, tone, and content are missing.

Following are 10 guidelines to follow to avoid a Social Media faux pas. The list is by no means complete but represents basic principles by which to communicate with others.

One: Be Respectful of Others - and Yourself. Never share information or images that could be embarrassing or harmful to yourself or others. Save that for face-to-face, private time if at all. This is just following the old Golden Rule of treating others as you would want to be treated, but it is amplified with the notion of treating yourself with respect as well.

Two: Reply When Contacted. Consider the case of a father who has a son serving in the Army in Afghanistan. Every day he emails his son mostly to have the reassurance that his son is alive and well. When his son does not respond, the father lives in dread until he hears from his son. Most of us can be thankful we are not in this scenario but the words of this father to his son make good sense in all human communications. He tells his son, "When I ping, you pong back."

Completing the communication circle is important both in one's personal and professional life. At the least, it communicates that the message was received. At the most, it is simple courtesy - a concept of a refined level of respect seldom seen these days. A response to a personal or professional communication does not have to be long. Just a pong of "message received" and "all is well." When the communication circle is complete, we all can live with just a little bit less uncertainty and stress. Now that is a way to build positive relationships.

Three: Build Quality Over Quantity When It Comes to Contacts. Somehow some people developed the notion that the number of people one is linked with is more important than who those people are. Some people brag that they have over a thousand "friends" and counting. In both personal and business relationships, it is far more important to build relationships by really getting to know someone and letting them get to know you. Sharing knowledge and building a support system with others can provide an important resource on a number of levels. It is important to remember, however, that the relationship must work both ways. To have a friend one must be a friend.

Four: Contribute More Than You Receive. Imagine a world where this principle ruled! Contributing more than you receive may be the biggest challenge for the "Me" generation and their children. Looking at some tweets and Facebook pages can reveal what can only be called too much self-absorption. An effective communication presents content outside of one's own need to "express" a particular minor frustration or inconsequential experience and to provide content useful to the group as a whole. It means "editing" out the self-indulgent minutiae of the personal life and thinking about others. Details can be shared, of course. But only when they contribute something meaningful to the community engaged.

Five: Be Concise. Everyone is pressed for time. Thinking carefully about a message and communicating it in as few words as possible also expresses respect for everyone's time and busy schedules. There is no award for word count. In fact, too long a message often ends up not being carefully read or even read at all. With some thought, a message can be both informative and brief.

Six: Use Good Grammar. Some forms of Social Media encourage departures from standard grammar and spelling. Brevity is of the essence. However, when at all possible, time should be taken to express content according to standard forms. Good grammar is the essence of effective and respectful communication.

Seven: Listen More Than You Contribute. Again, imagine a world where this principle ruled! Listening carefully often resolves conflicts before they even happen. The speed and brevity of some forms of Social Media can muddle the message and totally sabotage the tone of the intended message. What was meant as a modest request can come across as a loud and even belligerent command. In other cases, careful listening can reveal that what we thought we knew about a subject is actually wrong! By being open to others' perspectives and information, we can learn something even if in the end we do not exactly agree. No one can know everything and sometimes it is surprising how listening to others brings new insights into our lives.

Eight: Don't Write in the Moment of Emotion. Many people "vent" their feelings through Social Media. From love to hate and everything in between, the wise wait for reason to return. The easy access to online communication requires that we exercise self-discipline and pause BEFORE uploading our emotional rant for all to share. In the moment, emotional venting may seem satisfying. But in the broader context of the full social community, well, rants lack a certain dignity and maturity and often prove embarrassing sooner or later.

Nine: Take Responsibility. Words are actions and like many human activities can have unexpected consequences. When communicating through Social Media, we must constantly ask ourselves if we were speaking face-to-face with the recipient/s would we say these words. The isolation and barrier of Social Media may entice us to say things we would not say directly to someone for a variety of reasons. In the end, however, we are responsible for our words whether spoken or written.

Of course, we also have to remember that in digital communication, the "forward" button is all too convenient. The stories of people having messages forwarded to unintended recipients does not change the responsibility of the person who sent out that message to begin with. Words have a way of taking on a life of their own and we must be prepared to own what we have communicated.

Ten: Be the Human Being You Want the World to See. Social Media offers a wonderful opportunity for quick and expansive communications with a variety of people. But as with all social activities, each of us must determine how we want to present ourselves and how we will behave. Each of us can determine the manner and content of our words and build an image for our online communities. The manner and content of our words build the image we choose. It is freedom but as with all freedom, it requires care and responsibility.
facebook
Facebook Applications Compromise Users' Privacy
 eyespy
If you're playing the games and participating in the different movie/tv trivia quizzes that Facebook has to offer, your personal identification could be compromised. A recent report from The Wall Street Journal indicates that many popular Facebook "apps" or applications on the social networking site have been sharing users' personal information.

"Apps" are pieces of software that let Facebook users play games, share common interests, and take trivia type quizzes. The Wall Street Journal found that 10 of the most popular "apps" on Facebook were sharing users' identification along with their friends' names to many advertisers and internet tracking companies. According to The Wall Street Journal investigation, the recent privacy breach may have affected tens of millions of Facebook "app" users and is in violation of Facebook's policies.


The problem with these "apps" is that they are not created by Facebook. They are created by independent software developers who have access to "Facebook ID" numbers. A "Facebook ID" is a number assigned to every Facebook user. Because these numbers are a public part of any Facebook account, these independent software developers can use a "Facebook ID" to look up a person's name using a standard web browser, even if a Facebook user's profile is completely private. For Facebook users who share their information with "everyone," information such as age, residence, occupation and photos may have been shared with advertisers and internet tracking companies.

In response to the recent privacy breach, Facebook said that they've been taking steps to significantly limit independent software developers' ability to transfer data about users to outside companies. While Facebook may be taking these steps, there are over 500,000 "apps" on the site that will need policing in order to crack down on this issue.

Facebook can say that they're blaming the independent software developers, but just a few months ago Facebook was criticized for modifying its privacy rules to expose more of a user's information. It was basically found that Facebook was doing the same thing that these app developers are doing. Facebook was transmitting Facebook ID numbers to companies who advertised on the site. With all the complaints, Facebook immediately stopped this and forbid this kind of activity on the site. The only positive here was the fact that Facebook could stop this activity because Facebook was the one who was controlling the transmission of data. Unfortunately, Facebook has no control over apps sharing users' information. The only real step Facebook can take would be to shut down apps altogether which would upset users and hurt the company's revenue.

This issue is very troublesome for both Facebook and its users as apps are one of the top activities users partake in on Facebook. According to Facebook, 70% of its users use apps each month. Whether Facebook shuts down certain apps that violate Facebook's policy or takes a more subtle approach towards these independent software developers, we will just have to see.
Sincerely,