As social media use becomes more widespread we need a means of establishing our own individual terms of service around online social networking. Here’s mine!
SOCIAL MEDIA POLICY
[a work in progress]
1. Connecting: Introduce yourself and tell me why you want to connect
Please tell me about yourself and what inspired your interest in connecting - this information has a lot of value for me and may serve us both in defining the nature of our connection. I think it would be great if people could get in the habit of sending a one line message to indicate the interest (”I like your work/writing/ideas” etc). A few folks have already done so and I’m grateful for the context!
2. Follow, add, friend: I’m interested in meaningful contact (not contact collecting)
I add and follow people I’m genuinely interested in - not simply those who appear to offer social currency. I will always take a look at the profile of a new follow to see if there’s an immediate reason for connecting. If not, I might want to spend some time getting to know more about that person. I will not add/follow someone simply because they follow me. Nor do I assume you should follow me unless you wish to do so. I do not “collect” friends. I am interested in meaningful connection and exchange.
3. Privacy, boundaries and safety: What’s private, what’s public?
I will not publish or broadcast information about professional client work or interpersonal relationships. I ask that you do not engage me in either type of exchange. I also ask that if you have a message that is just for me, send it as a personal message. I do tolerate the broadcasting personal grievances or incentives to disparage others via social media. Without a feeling of consequence or recourse, it is all too easy to act out online - this is just plain bullying.
4. Signal to noise: It’s a dialogue (not a monologue)
My time (and yours) is limited. That’s why I try and pay attention to signal to noise and ask that you do the same. This is just a starting point. I don’t see social media as a one way broadcast outlet but a many-to-many conversation for all of us to further our own learning, knowledge and pursuits by sharing and exchanging ideas. This is why I prefer to contact with people who actively engage others - rather than viewing their contacts as nothing more than an audience.
5. Profile information and sharing: My philosophy of “holistic” professionalism
It used to be that we assessed each other according to traditional qualifications and skill designators. As the world got flatter we found ourselves with degrees and qualifications that are increasingly commonplace. Malcolm Gladwell’s Blink helped to popularize the idea of the “thin slice” of sensibility - that granular social information that tells us more important information about each other than a resume ever could.
I’m interested in connecting with WHOLE people - as much of you as you would share in public conversation is OK with me. I don’t mind if people write about what they eat for breakfast (I could learn something about how to eat better). I don’t mind if people write about their pets (I could learn the difference between different breeds of dogs). I don’t mind if people talk about their running schedule (I might improve my own). In fact, there’s very little I’ve seen in people’s shared online expression that I haven’t learned from in some way. In fact, I think we’ve got far more to gain - than lose - from defining ourselves as more than our skillsets.
By creating this policy I hope to challenge others to do the same and build on this example in order that we may, collectively, start to define some sort of social contract for social media.
I invite you to do the same - if you wish to use this as a basis for your own SMP! If you do create one, please leave a link in the comments below (to help others define similar policies).
Related reading: Our data, ourselves: The users bill of rights
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