I consider myself a small social media guru. I manage several Facebook pages, Twitter accounts, I network through the #hashtag and LinkedIn tells me my profile is 98% complete. I have over 1,200 friends; 500 followers; I’m in several dozens of circles and I’m connected to at least 300. These are small numbers I know in comparison to the likes of Pete Cashmore, Perez Hilton and Kim K. – that’s why I said I’m a small social media guru. (I’m also about 5′ 0″ – heh).
I tend to also think that I am a fairly rational, reasonable, individual that has a decently intelligent noggin attached to my shoulders; I know when to speak and be spoken too, so to speak.
We are in the age of Electracy. Electracy is a philosophy being formed by Greg Ulmer and a huge point of discussion in my Interactive Writing class this semester at Emerson College. Electracy, in short, (and trust me Ulmer is not short by any means) is similar to literacy and furthermore, to orality. And if reading and writing are what make our culture literate – then what folks do you think makes us electrate?
Well, for starters as vast majority of us in electracy have some sort of “online identity.” We are represented by our avatars, we understand “who we are” by our likes and what we post and what entertains us.
Leaves you with something to think about, no?
Folks, I know you’ve read up on your do’s and don’ts of “social media etiquette” before and I hate to hit you with another list but here I am. As we steep further into this age of electracy I want to offer some additional sound advice on what is A-OK and what should be kept to yourself.
1) Facebook posts about “How Bad of a (fill in the blank you are)”
I don’t know about you but my social media posts whether that be on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ or LinkedIn are pretty much all self-promoting. As Ulmer stated “self-awareness was to the Greeks as self-branding is to electracy.” So, then I ask you – do you think it is a good idea to tell us that you consider yourself a “bad father?” Do you think people find it perfectly normal that you insist on telling us how “bad you were last night” that you “blacked out at the bar and puked on yourself?” (insert photo of puke in cab) or another take on the “I’m such a bad..” posts are the “I’m so mad I’m going to get violent posts.”
NO!! We know that guns are not cool! Violence is not either and quite frankly if you want to smack a hoe for cutting you in line at 7/11 while you try to purchase a snickers bar and a slurpee than I probably don’t want to hang out with you! You probably will take offense to most of the truths I’ll deliver to you about your life and I’ll have permanent black eyes because of it. (Red 5 is gross for example and its making you break out!)
2) There are websites for online dating. So, keep it off Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn and while we are at it Craigslist – in case you needed to be reminded of the Craiglist Killer:
Alright, I’m probably going to get some backlash for this one but come on people. You’ve seen “Catfish the Movie”! It has become “Catfish the TV Show”! Unless you want to get closer to Nev (which I totally get, I would certainly want him to console me if I found out my online boyfriend of the past five years was actually a mule) but no one with self-respect should allow someone they are in a relationship with to stay that hidden for five years. LOVE yourself y’all.
If you can tell that you love me by my 1/2 an inch avatar on Facebook and we don’t have any friends in common, then I’m a little creeped out. Even worse is the Twitter avatar. It is like 1/16 of an inch wide!
In addition, LinkedIn was created for business connections. And I am NOT in the business of being a call-girl. Sure, you met me at a work mixer. Sure, I’m cute. You are also slightly cute and you have a 401K. Don’t LinkedIn me and drop a creepy message. I can see how much you are looking at my profile on that thing. If you don’t want to hire me to do what it is that I actually do. Then don’t LinkedIn me – try to find me on OkCupid! or something. (I’m not there) but try anyways.
And isn’t that the point of sites such as OkCupid! Match.com and JDate? Messaging people in order to MEET UP WITH THEM based on your visual attraction? There is a purpose for every online outlet and they should be handled accordingly. You wouldn’t walk into an Applebee’s in Manhattan and expect the same type of man that you could find down on Stone Street, would you?
3) Please, keep it sparse!
Yup, I come to speak the truth! I was once guilty of this ( in my defense, I was running a Kickstarter campaign) but OVERposting and putting too much text. I don’t want to read that! And I won’t read that. Especially if you post about the same things all the time.
There is a reason why those Twitter guys are surpassing the folks at Facebook. 140 characters. I challenge that. Let’s see you do 107 characters. #Hashtag #aspire #goals
4) Ah, yes, in relation to #3 – self-indulgence
Red Gypsy Post Polite says that it is OK to self-promote on your social media but if you feel that you are overwhelmed, beyond the description of words in the human language, (here let me mupload a photo of me blowing a kiss) that you can not even fathom all the love, support, best wishes and zzzzzzzzzzzzzz — here’s that 140 characters rule again!
5) Facebook mass-message is the most annoying invention on the planet. I don’t know all your friends and don’t need to get 50 messages that say:
“I’m innnnnnnnn ;)”
6) Work emails through Facebook is a HUGE no in the Red Gypsy Post Polite.
I find it highly annoying that you are trying to email me work related material through Facebook. We all know Facebook owns us! Don’t send me a document through them. And secondly I lose track of all the work related messages because my Facebook inbox is crowded with.
“I’m innnnnnnnnn ;)”
7) You are in Love.
I’m happy for you! You are in love! Love is a great thing. Love means that you have a very special person in your life. You spend lots of time with them. You have an album on Facebook dedicated to your bowling nights and you post things like: ❤ to your lover’s wall. That’s sweet.
Love is something to share between two people (unless you’re polyamorous in which case – no judgement.) But that’s where I’ll end it. Love is between two people, not 845 friends combined. Keep the mush mush there. Thanks.
8) When you like the gross porn Facebook pages …..
Everyone can see it and its weird. That’s enough about that.
Greg Ulmer might be pioneering the thought behind electracy but Red Gypsy is here to make sure you stay social media Post Polite during this age of electracy. Before I leave you here are some final, and brief thoughts.
1) If you are at a work function, at a club, do not have a drink in your hand during a picture unless you are a balding CEO, in that case than please raise your scotch at arm’s level and remind us why you have rosy cheeks.
2) Mmm your abs. Yea, I like them too. But if you can see you have them in the mirror than I don’t need to see them. You know that they are there.
3) It is my birthday. You are my friend. Call me.
4) I haven’t spoken to you in decades. You didn’t like me in High School. The least you can do after you randomly friend request me is to comment on a photo and say “you look great!” or at least send some sort of signal that you are not just trying to be nosy.
5) Spell check, cursing. It is all relative.
6) Complaining is not a good color on you. Or anyone for that matter.
7) Make your updates count!
Stay tuned for more Red Gypsy Post Polite.
Red Gypsy 
There’s definitely a need for periodic review and updating of netiquette as new tools emerge and change the social media landscape. These common sense strategies are definitely part of “electracy” of social media. Since Ulmer is all about the lofty stuff, it’s good that we have Red Gypsy Post Polite to keep us on the straight and narrow! I wonder if there are others that we can derive directly from his writings (as you did in #1).
Super funny blog post Amy.
I love this list. It reminded me of every single Facebook friend I wish I could unfriend for irrelevant ramblings, excessive cheesy romantic pictures, inappropriate status updates or mass messages. But that would be rude, right?
I consider myself to be far from social media guru status. I am generally not very forthcoming in “real” life and have trouble creating an online personality or version of myself. I’ve always felt posting is self-promoting and something I’m not terribly interested in doing.
However, this reminds me that I should get in the habit of posting and updating my social media accounts. While I can’t imagine myself as someone who would post updates about what I had for lunch or what I did last night, I feel as an independent filmmaker I need to get my work out there. I really should work on an online presence that can be used to promote my work and myself as a professional.
Amy, you’ve succinctly summarized many of the things that I find exasperating about social media. (The anonymous facebook requests, the annoying stalker, the constant trivial updates about breakfast, lunch and dinner, etc.) I only use one form of social media, Facebook, and that’s enough of a hassle for me. I have no intention in joining any other social media platforms anytime soon. I might consider joining LinkedIn, for business purposes in the not-so-distant future, but that’s it. Twitter is not something that appeals to me. I really don’t have the itch to broadcast every single thought that comes to my head every waking minute of my day! I understand the appeal of it, though. I have no problem “following” other people on Twitter who have that ‘itch’ I lack, like comedians, for example, which have exploited its potential for reaching a mass audience in a second’s instant. Twitter + Comedy = Instant Hilarity.
Since I’m a cinephile, my guilty-pleasure of late has been following the fake Twitter account of the highly-respected European director Michael Hanake.
The content of his tweets range from talking about his cat’s fart problems to making jokes about Terrence Malick’s obsessive love of trees. It is all done with very sloppy spelling that accentuates his Austrian accent and “punctuated” every time with a “LOL” at the end of every single tweet. Now, this speaks to a very particular audience, the cinephile kind, one that “gets it,” like me. If you know who Michael Haneke is, you’d understand his immature Twitter persona stands in stark contrast to his über-serious public persona, and even more so if you have seen his often misanthropic films. And that makes for some great comedy. It brings smile to my face every day and any platform that can enable someone to do that has my seal of approval.