Tell it Like it is Tuesday- Etiquette!

Tell it Like it is Tuesday!!!!

You know that moment when you get your receipt handed to you at the store and the clerk says “Have a Nice Day Mam” and you gawk at him. I mean, this kid who could be your own child, just Mam-ed you!

But what was he supposed to say? He was being polite just like his mother taught him to be. If  he had said nothing we would have thought him rude.

I am sure this has happened to you at some point. At least he used real words, made eye contact and spoke. In today’s society speaking in complete sentences, using non-abbreviated words and common courtesy have gone by the wayside a bit. I do not mean to be all “Old Lady” here, but I think you know what I mean.

But where does the line blur when it comes to common courtesy? It’s not just in the real world that social graces are lacking, it is in the virtual one as well.  The ability to comment ‘anonymously’ via the internet has opened up many to scrutiny, bullying, critiquing and general nastiness that might not have otherwise have happened to their face.

My experiences, and what spurred on this post, was being asked by a person who has blogged for all of 5 minutes how she can get her name on a list of PR companies so she can start getting free stuff. She wanted to skip all of the hard work and reap the rewards.  Give her an Iphone and suddenly she is a ‘writer’.  There is no easy button, no skip ahead 5 spaces card. I guess I thought it a bit nervy. No hello, I enjoy your work, could you help me get started. …

A close food friend of mine who has a fantastic cooking site recently commiserated with me about how she is almost afraid to share her fun upcoming events because inevitably she will get a little black rain cloud who will bring the rain. Why does she get all of the opportunities? Why does she get to have all of the fun?

Hard work. Years and hours of hard work. Late nights, countless moments missed with her family and planning.  For some of us, blogging is a hobby and for others it is more of a vocation.  Not a quick dollar, ‘it is so easy anyone can do it’ way to pass the time. I even saw a post a few weeks ago that listed blogging as a great way to earn money in just 2 hours a day. Money. In 2 hours. Sure…

But when did it become ok to say things to people online that we would never say to their face?

I asked several bloggers that I know to weigh in on the topic of social etiquette and here is what they had to say:

Introduce yourself when commenting on a blog for the first time and always be polite – as you would if you were in their home – even if you disagree with them.

Jennifer@sodoughsavvy.com

For bloggers, their blog is their personal place where they can speak they mind and they take pride in it. While many of them are moms or dads, that doesn’t mean they aren’t writers and authors. You wouldn’t copy a book or newspaper article and publish it under your own name. The same rules (and copyright laws) apply to blog posts, so don’t copy and paste without permission.

Beth at In Good Cents, www.ingoodcents.com

Try to think of bloggers as real entities. You wouldn’t walk into Macy’s and start pinning advertisements for your own retail shop. The same goes for bloggers…we typically don’t like it when other people blanket our blog or facebook page with their own links. If you really want to build a relationship, a quick personalized note would go a lot further.

Rebeca at The Average Parent www.theaverageparent.com

So weigh in here. Do YOU feel like social graces are a thing of the past? When we never actually talk, meet, send letters, hear another persons voice-do we become desensitized to human emotion? Do we just not realize when we are rude and out of line?

Tell me below in the comments.  Don’t be shy, I know you have a lOT to say!