Even though I would like to be on Active Rain daily, I am not. However, I do comment very regularly and attempt to post as much as humanly possible. Since I've been an aspiring blogger for a few months now, I've noticed some commonalities, some trends, and some things which have prompted me to wonder about appropriate social networking behavior.
So . . . I've done a little bit of research on appropriate blogtiquette. Feel free to breeze through my Emily Post-style rules, but if you want to make a negative comment, see rule #3 below before commenting.
- Use correct spelling, grammar and punctuation. Start every sentence with a capital letter. Use spell check if necessary.
- Do not plagiarize. When you use the text written by someone else, give that writer credit for his or her work. Use quotation marks around copied text just like you did (or were supposed to do) in high school. The same goes for photography. If a photo is copyrighted, it is generally not a good idea to attempt to pass it off as one's own work.
- Comment appropriately. This is a three-fold matter: a) Read the entire blog post before writing a comment; this way you can make sure that your comment is relevant. (I've personally received many comments that only remotely relate to the blog post.) b) If you need or want to disagree, do so politely. Remember that many bloggers are using their blogs as a form of advertising. So, it would be considered impolite to publicly malign the author. A polite disagreement might begin with, "I understand what you have to say and believe that you may have some valid points, but have you considered . . . .?" If you cannot politely disagree, surf away or email your comments directly to the author. c) Leave your name. If you are going to make a comment, own it and/or take responsibility for it!
- Do Not . . . a) Do not comment about something that could get you fired. b) Do not comment about something that could offend others.
Lastly, another tip is to keep it short and simple. If you write something too lengthy, your reader will get tired and move on.
So, in keeping with that, I will sign off. Happy Wednesday!
Broker, Realtor®
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