The 10 commandments of online etiquette
Thou shalt not send generic LinkedIn requests, talk excessively about yourself in newsletters, and eight other sinful things.
How do you like it when you meet someone and he automatically adds you to his newsletter list?
How many of you love to get information that talks all about the sender and tells you nothing valuable?
How often do you unsubscribe from email lists and newsletters?
How many of you know organizations that push their messages via social media, but don’t use it to engage, network, or build a community? I’d venture to guess every one of you.
If you are with me—you hate this stuff—I want to know why you do it to others when you get behind your computer at work.
Some examples
I ask these questions when I speak, particularly when I do three- or four-hour workshops. It allows me to dig deep into why people do this at work, but hate it as a consumer or buyer.
A few weeks ago, I did some research on different customer relationship management programs for a client. I spoke to five different companies. Of the five, three added me to their newsletter list without my permission, simply because I called looking for additional information.
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