Is it surprising bloggers offer advice on how to use the medium? Some focus on promotion but others focus on maintaining/protecting our reputations. Much of the advice is framed as rules of etiquette. Corporations like IBM have developed clear policies. They seek to protect themselves and possibly their employees by offering wisdom to follow.
Others have said that common sense is all that is needed. Common sense may keep you out of trouble most of the time, but it will not help you accomplish your goals. Why are you online connecting with others? If it is for fun, then common sense may be enough. (If you have common sense)
Most lists are focused on what not to do:
How to get along?
The rules
The full guide
What would change if we focused on how we should be?
I prefer to use Larry Spears’s summary of Robert Greenleaf’s servant leadership characteristics as my policy for the use of social media/ social computing/ web 2.0. The list can extend to much more than social media but it operates well in that venue.
Larry C. Spears – Characteristics of Servant Leadership (Summary of Robert Greenleaf’s work)
1. Listening
2. Has empathy
3. Is able to promote healing
4. Awareness (self aware)
5. Persuasion
6. Conceptualization – “dream great dreams”
7. Foresight – see likely outcome of situations
8. Stewardship – hold institution in trust for the greater good of society
9. Commitment to growth of people – they have intrinsic value
10. Building community
“All that is needed to rebuild community as a viable life form for large numbers of people is for enough servant-leaders to show the way, not by mass movements, but by each servant-leader demonstrating his own unlimited liability for a quite specific community-related group.”
Robert Greenleaf
What do you think?
ListenTo Lead 