The magazine is original and is about social media etiquette for undergraduates. It describes the general guideline of social media etiquette, compare and contrast different social media etiquette fucus and the impact of not following social media etiquette.

1. 3
General guideline
of using social
media
4 5
Different focus of
social media
etiquette
Impact of social
media on
undergraduates
UNDERGRADUATES’S
OCIAL MEDIA
Etiquette
SM2 Batch 17 Group 5 No.1 Hong Lu
2013/11/18

2. 1.
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
What is etiquette?
Conventional behavior
Law
Standard
Discipline
Custom, courtesy and rule
5.
2.
A.
B.
What is Social Media?
Web 2.0
Internet-based application for information
exchange
Information techonology
Traditional communication tools
C.
C.
D.
3.
A.
B.
C.
D.
4.
A.
B.
C.
D.
A.
B.
What are the three types of social media?
Social networking sites, Broadcast
applications, Collaborative projects
Social networking sites, Blogs, Youtube
Facebook, Broadcast applications, Twitter
SMS, Collaborative projects, Wikipedia
What are the three steps of social media
etiquette?
Delete photos engaging illegal activates, show
courtesy, establish valuable communications
Post positive personal information, be
respectful, establish valuable communications
Post positive personal information, expand
network, generate value-added content
Tighten private settings, show respect,
establish valuable communications
D.
What are the aspects that social media has a
positive impact on undergraduates?
Doing research, Connecting with future
collaborators, Seeking collaboration
opportunities
Doing research, Expanding network, Seeking
collaboration opportunities
Doing research, Connecting with future
collaborators, Chatting with friends
Searching for promotions , Connecting with
futors, Seeking collaboration opportunities
6.
What are the correct matches of social media
and its type?
A. Twitter—Collaborative Projects
B. Facebook—Social networking sites
C. Wiki.nus—Collaborative Projects
D. Blog.nus—Broadcast applications
E. Microblog—Broadcast applications
1. 2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
A.
Answer
the
questions
below after reading the
magazine and complete the
drawing on back cover
according to your answers.
Use the given blue dot and
your answers to complete
the drawing.
B.
C.
D.
E.
1

3. Three-quarters of today's youths and young adults maintain profiles on at least one
kind of social networking site, and one in five of them has posted a video of
themselves online according to the Pew Research Center (“Social media etiquette”,
2010). Based on these facts, the argument that undergraduates are more vulnerable
because of their easily-accessible personal information online can be put forward.
Furthermore, the reasonable assumption that undergraduates may encounter
problems of managing the use of social media can be made. Hence it is significant for
undergraduates to learn the correct social media etiquette in order to be responsible
for their social media behavior. Social media is a group of applications and websites
which provide users with platforms to construct profile pages, share ideas, and
exchange information. Social media which are most often used by NUS
undergraduates can be classified into three main categories: broadcast applications,
social networking sites and collaborative sites. Firstly, undergraduates tend to create
personal pages and share opinions on broadcast applications such as Blog.nus (“Social
media and learning”, 2013). Also, undergraduates aim to expand their networks or
maintain relationships with friends on social networking sites (Boyd & Ellison, 2007).
Undergraduates use collaborative sites like Wiki.nus for the purpose of strengthening
cooperation as collaborative projects enable users to work together (Kaplan &
Haenlein, 2010; “Social media and learning”, 2013). After understanding the definition
and classification of social media, undergraduates should follow the overall guidelines
for using social media step by step including posting positive personal information,
showing respect and adding value to conversations on social media. Furthermore,
undergraduates should pay special attention to different aspects of etiquette while
using broadcast applications, social networking sites and collaborative sites. Being
aware of the etiquette for using social media, NUS undergraduates can make full use of
it and benefit from it in the future.
2

4. Being responsible for managing their social media
accounts, undergraduates should maintain positive
profiles by posting constructive personal information,
being respectful, and establishing mutually beneficial
communications with other users on social media.
Firstly, it is essential to post only photos that show
the undergraduate in good light. Posting a photo of
receiving an award instead of chugging pitchers of
beer on social media accounts would enable
undergraduates to create a better impression. It has
been found that friends on social networking sites
often unintentionally share sensitive personal facts
with hundreds of people, some of whom could have
malicious intentions (“Social media harassment”, 2010).
It is therefore imperative for the undergraduates to
ensure what they post online is mostly positive while
tightening their privacy settings on social media. The
next rule for undergraduates is to be respectful and
act rationally online. A simple way to show respect
and courtesy is to use “please” and “thanks” (Pollock,
2013). Moreover, undergraduates should refrain from
adding offensive comments while encountering
disagreements on social media. In this way,
undergraduates would be able to build harmonious
relationships with other users while engaging in
constructive conversation on social media. Finally,
generating value-added content on social media
would help undergraduates to improve their online
image. In particular, value-added content refers to
texts and photos that could inspire other users or
make them ponder over a specific issue. Adding
insightful comments instead of spamming on social
media (Pollock, 2013) enables undergraduates to
build quality relationships with other users. In
essence, posting positive personal information,
showing respect and courtesy, and generating valueadded content on social media will ensure that
undergraduates construct a positive image on social
media.
“It
is essential to post only
photos
that
show
the
undergraduate in good light.
Posting a photo of receiving an
award instead of chugging
pitchers of beer on social media
accounts
would
enable
undergraduates to create a
better impression.
”
3

5. As social networking sites, collaborative sites and broadcast applications are
utilized for different purposes, it is important for undergraduates to focus on
different aspects of etiquette when using each type of social media.
First of all, NUS undergraduates
should focus on cooperative
etiquette when using collaborative
sites
like
Wiki.nus.
As
undergraduates
are
using
collaborative sites for achieving
professional growth, completing
collaborative targets (Datta, 2010),
or sharing reliable research sources
online (Kaplan & Haenlein, 2010),
they need to emphasize on
cooperative etiquette like showing
courtesy when sharing ideas and
behaving
rationally
when
encountering disagreements. In
contrast, NUS undergraduates
should take greater care of online
communication etiquette when
using social networking sites.
This is because undergraduates aim
to establish positive reputations,
maintain friendships, and expand
networks through social networking
sites (Datta, 2010). To establish
constructive
and
efficient
communication with friends on
social media, good interpreting skills
as well as presentation skills should
be developed by undergraduates.
Furthermore, undergraduates are to
pay attention to etiquette for
broadcasting
information
on
broadcast applications. As the name
suggests, broadcast applications are
used to share information and they
are mainly managed by the individual
(Kaplan & Haenlein, 2010). (“Free
speech”, 2010).
Speculation can therefore be made
that information on broadcast
applications may be false or
misleading. Some argue that people
may easily believe any information
they
read
online
without
considering the reliability of
information sources n this case,
ensuring that undergraduates have
checked credibility before reposting
and have not transmitted incorrect
information
on
broadcast
application is imperative. Despite
the fact that there are some
similarities in these three types of
social media, compelling reasons
strengthen the argument that
undergraduates need to pay special
attention to different aspects of
etiquette for using collaborative
sites, social networking sites and
broadcast applications.
4

6. “As the inappropriate use of social
media may result in distractions from
studying, time wastage and decrease in
face-to-face communication, it is
essential for undergraduates to follow
the proper social media etiquette
online.
Undergraduates may get distracted from studying,
waste time and reduce real life contact due to the
inappropriate use of social media. First of all,
undergraduates may be addicted to social
networking sites and therefore keep checking them
when studying (Blogger, 2012). Undergraduates are
found to be distracted from their studies as eighty
percent of undergraduates surveyed admitted that
they posted or responded on social media while
completing homework (Wang, Chen & Liang, 2011).
The attempt to multi-task will result in a lack of
concentration on studying and further affect
undergraduates’ academic performance. Another
negative effect is that undergraduates tend to
waste too much time on social media. 45% of the
surveyed undergraduates admitted that they spent
6-8 hours per day checking social media sites, while
23% spent more than 8 hours (Wang, Chen &
Liang, 2011). The unnecessary time sepnt on social
networking sites can eventually lead to less
sleeping time due to the lack of time management
skills of undergraduates. Furthermore, there is a
decrease in face-to-face interactions as chatting
online becomes a substitute for meeting friends in
real life (Blogger, 2012). The reduction in real
human contact may affect undergraduates’
communication
skills
negatively. As
the
inappropriate use of social media may result in
distractions from studying, time wastage and
decrease in face-to-face communication, it is
essential for undergraduates to follow the proper
social media etiquette online.
”
5

7. The incontrovertible conclusion can therefore be
drawn that undergraduates would be able to take
the responsibility of managing their social media
accounts as long as they follow the etiquette for
using social media applications. After understanding
the definition and the classification of social media,
undergraduates need to ensure that they have
posted positive personal information, showed
respect to other users, and generate valuable
content on social media. On the contrary,
undergraduates may face negative impacts including
the distraction of social media, time wastage and
decrease in face-to-face communication caused by
the inappropriate use of social media. Moreover,
undergraduates should be aware of different aspects
of social media etiquette while using different types
of social media. Specifically, undergraduates should
emphasize on online communication etiquette while
using social media networking sites, cooperative
etiquette while using collaborative sites and sharing
etiquette while using broadcast applications. Also, it
must be noted that these etiquette are not mutually
exclusive. In other words, undergraduates may
apply all these etiquettes at the same time but they
need to focus on different aspects when using
different types of social media. On the whole,
undergraduates would be able to manage social
media well as long as they follow the suggested
etiquette of using social media.
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http://ableinnovationsblog.com/?attachment_id=2763
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from
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http://oberhauser.com/social-media-marketing/
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