october 2008

There is a scene in the movie PCU (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0110759/) in which the lead character Droz played by Jeremy Piven says to a friend bound for a concert, “What’s this?  You’re wearing the shirt of the band you’re going to see?  Don’t be that guy.”

We live in a world of unwritten rules.  Organizations and social groups have them.  Companies have them.  Even institutions are defined by them.

Consider our national pastime, baseball.  The game is more than balls and strikes.  For instance, if one team’s pitcher hits a batter (on purpose or by accident) then a pitcher for the other team is obligated to do the same.  Ironically, the sport has so many meaningful unwritten rules that Baseball Digest actually researched and published a book (http://www.baseball-almanac.com/legendary/liunwrit.shtml) on the subject.

The practice of media relations – a cornerstone of most PR campaigns – is also defined by its unwritten rules.  How (and when) to contact a journalist?  What publications should only be pitched an exclusive?  Why to never say your company has no competitors? (http://proprtips.com/2008/09/17/tip-31-the-big-lie/)  An understanding of the guidelines to engage with journalists is what separates true professionals from the also-rans.

Now we come to social media and the shadowy rules that guide interaction in the blogosphere, through social networks and in other online forums.  Again, there’s a lot at stake as failure to abide will result in an individual being ostracized, as well as damage to their company’s brand. 

There are a couple of guidelines which are universal:

1.  Participate in the discussion before trying to shape it

2.  Identify who you are and any affiliations that color your opinion

3.  Always provide content of value or risk being tagged a spammer

Yet, there are other possible unwritten rules which have yet to be uniformly adopted.  Here are a few examples:

-If someone follows me on Twitter, is it an insult to not follow them?

-If I exchange messages with a contact in LinkedIn or Facebook, is it appropriate for me to then phone them at their office?

-When writing content for a social network managed by a publication like Fast Company or Business Week, can I reference an article from a competitive magazine?

What do you think?  Also, are there other unwritten rules that are now accepted as gospel?