Top five social networking fears and tips

Generation Y have no idea how lucky they are. My first mobile phone was so heavy I got more use out of it as a paperweight; and as for getting online, well I never really truly appreciated the patience I had back then. Today though, I feel I am becoming converted to Generation Y ways!

Now I know there any many people who have been doing all this for some time now. But there are others, just like me about 18 months ago, who completely freeze at the thought of sharing things publicly, talking with people online or even looking like they're endorsing the company they work for.

Talking in a social media workshop we held at work earlier this year, it surprised me how common everyone's fears were when it came to starting to use social networks. Here are my top five, in no particular order:

1. I am not interesting enough!
2. What if I make a mistake or saying something wrong?
3. I don't really have any strong opinions!
4. I'm already too busy, I won't have time to do this as well!
5. I'm worried about the risks of online abuse and privacy issues.

To be honest, in the workshop, it was clear that social networking was never going to be everyone's cup of tea. For others, myself included, it was a case of working through the fears, choosing just the one network to begin with, start socialising and take it one step at a time from there - for most people this took place on Twitter.

When you start interacting with other people and companies, you soon begin to see that providing you're using the channels in a socially acceptable way, you should have no reason to worry.

If you start to use these networks in an anti-social way then, just as you would in face to face situations, you will open yourself up to risks - particularly as legislation starts to come into force and you can become liable to prosecution.

So to conquer the top five fears, here are my top five tips:

1. Be open, share something about yourself - use your interests and hobbies as a guide.
2. Follow other people with like-minded interests.
3. Like and share other people's content about your interests, don't be afraid to add an extra comment - even if you're just agreeing with their point or saying you've had a similar experience.
4. If you make a mistake or say something that is inaccurate, don't ignore it. Go back and correct yourself - doing it in a light hearted way can be useful.
5. If someone is abusive towards you, there are 3 options open to you:

• Report the post to the social network
• Do nothing, just ignore them.
• Reply to them but not in an aggressive or negative way that might lead to an "online war" - often an upbeat reply is enough to ward off any troll.

There are many books and websites that can help give you the confidence to start your social networking. For me, one of the best tools was just simply to get on with it. Watch what others do and eventually just start joining in. You never know, you might actually start to enjoy it and you'll be amazed at what you can learn from others on these networks. Social networking is one of the greatest and easiest ways to share information!

Do you have any other useful tips to share? Be great to hear them!