25 rules of social media netiquette

This entry is part 12 of 39 in the series 40 years online

The quality of our online communities depends on the attitudes and behaviors we bring to it. But Emily Post can’t always help: life online demands new ways of interacting. The term “netiquette” was coined in 1983, the same year that brought us our first list of guidelines for online behavior. The 13 rules laid down in 1983 are still as relevant as ever, but social media has brought new challenges and thus, new best practices. This post rounds up 25 netiquette rules from across the web, covering both longstanding and emergent principles.

10 ways you can help to build the Internet

This entry is part 7 of 39 in the series 40 years online

You can help to create the Internet without writing a single line of code. You can help create the online world in which you and your children are going to live. This post maps out 10 ways you can help with that important and rewarding work.

7 rules for rule-breakers

This entry is part 3 of 39 in the series 40 years online

The Internet may be based on standards, but it hates rules. Thanks to the Internet we are now faced with almost daily choices about when to obey, and when to defy. If you’re going to be an online rule-breaker (and you probably should be, at least some of the time) these 7 rules can help with your rule-breaking.

Twitter makes jet lag even more painful

It was 3 in the afternoon, but it could have been 3 in the morning to judge from the exhausted faces of a roomful of entrepreneurs. These entrepreneurs constitute the up-and-coming generation of businesses in Cluj, Romania, and I had just spent the day talking them...

Predicting the future of the “personal brand”

Yesterday Dan Schawbel published an interview with me on his Personal Branding blog. I have previously criticized the “personal branding” vogue both on this site and on my HBR blog, so I warned Dan he might be in for a rough ride! Much to his credit, he...

11 ways Twitter can change your life, as told by its users

Online conversations change lives. That belief drives most of my work and writing, which is why I’m always so interested to hear people reflect on the ways that social media affects their relationships, career or self-image. A few months ago I collected some of...

Does the Internet eradicate barriers or perpetuate them?

The Guardian published an interesting story this weekend about the Internet’s impact on disability. Aleks Krotoski writes that her masters’ thesis in social psychology demonstrated two ways the web benefits people with physical disabilities: First, the web...