Social Media

Published on May 7th, 2012 | by Aliosha Kasin

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The 36 Laws Of Facebook Etiquette

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Wonder why people de-friend you on Facebook all the time?

Being active on Facebook has its do’s and don’ts. Just like any social occasion, having Facebook etiquette is a thing and should be takes into consideration when on Facebook.

Researchers at Arizona State University have recently unveiled the 36 most important rules to follow on Facebook. They used six focus groups comprised of university students with an average of 200 Facebook friends and 40 minutes a day spent on Facebook to determine the most agreed upon social networking rules that govern Facebook. The researchers then handed over those rules to 593 other students to assign to their real-life “close friends,” “casual friends,” and “acquaintances.

The researchers found that reciprocity was the most widely regarded ingredient to a proper Facebook friendship. They found that you should say, “Happy birthday,” to your close friends instead of only posting it on their profiles, and always make sure to post, “Happy birthday,” to all your Facebook birthday boys and gals’ walls even if they’re only an acquaintance.

Many Facebook users also complained of being uncomfortable with posts that were “too personal” being posted in acquaintance’s feeds, so the lesson is to keep your personal life to yourself. They also found that the closer the friend, the less likely the chance they’ll post embarrassing photos of you on Facebook.

[ You may also like: How to unblock facebook with VPN services ]

So anyway here are the top 10 rules of Facebook:

1. Expect an immediate response from others when you post on their profiles

If someone posts on your profile, make sure you respond to it in a timely manner. Your sensitive friends will not wait a week for you to reply to their comments, reply as soon as you can in order to avoid upsetting them.

2. Do not say anything disrespectful about someone on Facebook

It seems that if this rule was to apply to most of my Facebook friends, my feed would be mostly empty.

3. Don’t post anything that will hurt a friend’s relationships

This means no embracing pictures of them from that pool party last night.

4. If a friend deletes or untags themself from a photo or post, do not repost it

It’s sort of like when you delete a friend and they send a new friend request saying, “Oh, I think you accidentally deleted me off your list.” Yes, because me clicking your name and then pressing the “Remove from Friends” button was something I just tripped into.

5. Communicate with your good friends using other methods besides Facebook

Pick up that thing called the telephone and invite your friend over.

6. Always present yourself positively but honestly on Facebook

Be yourself, don’t try to pretend you’re so awesome by posting photos of yourself with photo shopped six-pack taken on your mobile phone while you stand in front of your bathroom mirror.

7. Do not let Facebook use interfere with getting your work done

Well, this doesn’t apply to me as my job is to monitor Facebook and other social networks and then write about them. But you sir, no excuse, get back to work!

8. Do not post information on Facebook that could be used against you

This is kind of true, these days most of your employees will ask to see your Facebook profile picture before deciding if they want to hire you. Don’t put up a profile picture of yourself puffing on a blunt.

9. Use common sense in your Facebook interactions

Define common sense?

10. Don’t post anything that will hurt a friend’s career

Unless you hate that friend.

All 36 Laws:

1. Project yourself in a manner others would want to be associated with.
2. Don’t post anything that will hurt a friend’s image.
3. Don’t post anything that will hurt a friend’s career.
4. Don’t post anything that will hurt a friend’s relationships.
5. 
Respond immediately when someone leaves you a Facebook message.
6. 
Expect an immediate response from others when you post on their profiles.
7. 
Use privacy settings to control each friend’s level of access to your profile
8. Share information with close friends before posting it on Facebook.
9. Delete or block anyone who posts something that compromises your image.
10. 
Apply offline social rules to your Facebook interactions.
11. 
Be aware that not everyone is honest while on Facebook.
12. 
Use common sense in your Facebook interactions.
13. Monitor your photos to make sure they are flattering.
14. 
Always present yourself positively but honestly on Facebook.
15. 
Know that all of your friends can potentially affect your Facebook image.
16. Use Facebook to maintain your relationships.
17. 
Use Facebook to communicate happy birthday with friends.
18. Wish your close friend happy birthday in some way other than Facebook.
19. Use Facebook to learn more about people you are just getting to know.
20. 
Respect your friends’ time by not posting excess information on Facebook.
21. 
Meet new people by adding your close friends’ contacts as your own friends.
22. Only write on a friend’s wall if you are actually friends with them offline.
23. Only send a friend a private message if you are actually friends with them offline.
24. Only comment on a friend’s photos if you are actually friends with them offline.
25. Only use Facebook chat with people you are actually friends with them offline.
26. Communicate with your good friends using other methods besides Facebook.
27. Don’t add someone as a Facebook friend unless you meet them offline first.
28. Always realize that Facebook can expose lies you have told people.
29. Remember information a friend posts about you can have real world consequences.
30. 
If a friend deletes or untags themself from a photo or post, do not repost it.
31. If you are ignoring someone’s message, do not commit other Facebook behaviors that will reveal you were on Facebook.
32. Do not spend time trying to guess a friend’s motives for Facebook behaviors.
33. Do not confront anyone using a public component of Facebook.
34. 
Do not say anything disrespectful about someone on Facebook.
35. Do not let Facebook use interfere with getting your work done.
36. Do not post information on Facebook that could be used against you.

About the Author

Aliosha Kasin Founder and Editor at Melting Posts. Connect with him on twitter, Facebook, g+ Linkedin

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