Online Etiquette: Your Career Depends on It

As the world continues to grow and become more technologically advanced, it becomes increasingly more important to conduct oneself in an appropriate and respectable manner when it comes to social networks, and online civility.

This topic covers anything from the information you spread online, and the manner in which you share that information with your friends, family, business associates or potential clients.
Every action you take online from something as simple as a Facebook status, to something more serious like a business email to a client, reflects a part of yourself as a person and as a professional. Therefore it’s essential to always practice good online etiquette.

Mainly following the guidelines below:

Correct spelling and Grammar

Nothing is worse when trying to gain the trust and respect from someone professionally or not, then using bad grammar or misspelling words. It immediately sends the message that you are incompetent and not capable of conducting business in a professional manner. Make sure you always spell check or edit your own work and documents, or ask someone that you trust to edit it for you.

Also, write in a calm voice and avoid using all capital letters: when it comes to online communication capital letters are considered as yelling at someone. This is not the message you want to be sending to clients.

Use inoffensive language
Humour and sarcasm often rely on facial expressions, tone of voice, and cultural understanding to be effective. In written form, humour and sarcasm could be interpreted as offensive.

Keep writing style formal
People don’t generally penalize or judge you based on a few small grammatical errors. However, nothing is more impressive than a person who has a good command of their chosen language. So try your best at all times, and avoid abbreviations and informal language, e.g. “CU L8R”or “I’ll send it 2 U” etc.

Social Networks
This is by far the most important consideration of Online Etiquette. Somehow most people forget to use online etiquette when on social networks. They forget how people’s perceptions of you can change, especially when you have colleagues or business associates on your social networks. Can you imagine the catastrophic damage to your career or reputation, that incriminating pictures or images of you could cause online. Choose the information you wish to share online very carefully.

Etiquette is a vital part of everyday life, especially online. It’s important to know how to use the online world to your advantage and reflect the right image that isn’t detrimental to your future.