Facebook Etiquette

With a new academic year starting (for some of us as soon as tomorrow), Wired has released some simple rules to follow while facebooking. Facebook is one of my favorite websites because of it’s great functionality and expandability, but one should follow a few rules while using it. Here are a couple of my favorites:

• One should not friend another whom they have no association or connection with whatsoever. Doing so makes you what I like to call a ‘creeper’.
• Beware of potential employers browsing facebook photos. That body shot or keg stand picture might not encourage hiring.
• One’s profile should not be overloaded with unnecessary applications (such as Superpoke, Food Fight, ect.), Facebook is not meant to be like myspace. (emphasis added)
• Being part of too many Facebook groups devalues the ones you truly care about, try to stick to a select few (under 25?) -I keep mine under 15-.

There is one I disagree with though: One’s popularity is based on the number of “Happy Birthday!!!!!” wallposts they receive. Do not forget to leave one on good friends’ walls on their special day. My personal opinion is that if they are a good friend, you could give them a call. If they aren’t you probably didn’t even know it was their birthday to begin with.

I think the most important one is the one about employment. Employers are looking at MySpace and Facebook to get a ‘better look’ at their applicants, so be careful of what you put up, especially if you are, say, under 21.