Work + Money

These days, everyone is talking about blogs, online communities, social networks, and social applications. You can use them to make friends online. You can promote your business. You can use them to find a date, even.

But have you ever come away from an online conversation with that feeling of "ICK"? Or worse, have you found that people tend to ignore you, and you just can't figure out why? Maybe you're making some of these social media blunders - check and find out if you are a misfit or if you are IT. Do you...

Do the hard sell

If you are on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, or mingling with other bloggers and pitching a product, the door will slam in your face fast. There are places on the internet for pitches and sales - appropriate places, even, like in press releases, business websites, and ads. The pitch isn’t welcome in most communities -- and it’s sad to see that some people still haven’t figured that out by now.

Leave comments that are really “Adverquestions” or “Introtisements”

There are whole chapters of books dedicated to dealing with this kind of person. The bottom line is 1 - it’s cheesy and people see right through you. And 2 - it will get you moderated and banned if you keep it up.

Hide your true intentions

All I can think of is the backlash that the big brands have experienced when they secretly hired people to evangelize products or companies. Sony, Wal-Mart, Zipatoni all made some bad judgment calls when they launched 'grassroots' level advertising campaigns disguised as normal bloggers. Whoops.

Stoop to the level of attacks for the sole purpose of getting attention

I have no respect for people who have little regard for the feelings and interests of others. Trolls thrive off of making waves just to make waves, and some verge on stalking and harassing. Other people really add nothing but complaints to the conversation. They then usually complain about the fact that nobody likes them in the online communities they are a part of.

DUH.

Submit every single post you’ve ever read (or written) to social bookmarking sites

In case you haven’t noticed, the communities around social bookmarking sites like Digg, YahooBuzz & StumbleUpon are pretty smart and savvy people. Bombarding these sites with mediocre content will pretty much guarantee that you’ll get ignored, blocked, or both. Think of the boy who cried wolf.

For more social media blunders more specific to businesses, check out 10 Social Media Blunders that Can Destroy Your Brand.