10 Rules of Engagement

Reading along in Engage and coming up to what we talked about in class a little bit, the 10 Rules of Engagement.  I know we talked about it in class, and that kind of made this easier for me to talk about here.    I also don't want to delve too deep into it because I know we talked about it in class.  But, the 10 Rules of Engagement are:

1. Be transparent and state where you work because your honesty will be noted in the social media environment. Also, be clear about your role.
2. Never represent yourself or your future company in a misleading way.
3. Post meaningful and respectful comments. 
4. Use common sense and common courtesy and don't violate the company's privacy.
5. Stick to your area of expertise, but do feel free to provide unique and individual perspectives on non-confidential activities at your workplace. 
6. If you disagree with others' opinions, be polite and appropriate. Also, never get overly defensive and do not disengage from the conversation abruptly.
7. When writing about the competition, make sure to behave diplomatically and have the facts straight. 
8. Never comment on anything related to legal matters. 
9. Never participate in social media when the topic being discussed is considered a crisis situation. 
10. Be smart about protecting yourself, your privacy and the company's confidential information. Keep in mind that what you publish is widely accessible and will be around for a long time. 


I really have to say that I agree with these rules.  They really are a good thing to follow if you want to be successful in the social media market.  My favorite rules are 5 and 6.  I really dislike when someone starts talking about a topic that they obviously know little about.  It is a pet peeve of mine, and I always get short and angry with them.  I also don't like when people start bashing others' opinions.  If you don't agree with someone, that doesn't mean that you have to go about and yell at them with a wall of text.  You can show your disagreement in a different way with a line or two, but not an entire wall of text.


Those are just a few ways, but I will have to say that I take those two rules to heart a little more.


-GP