Monday, January 14, 2013

5 Ways to Act Like a Pro


Happy Monday, everyone! Today, we're going to go over some tips for maintaining a professional air online. Are you ready? :)


5. Keep your professional and personal lives separate. Unless it pertains to your area of expertise, try to avoid posting about politics, religion, and controversial subject matter.


4. Limit the scope of your reactions.
Rants might make you (temporarily) feel better, but you never know who could be reading them.


3. If you must use profanity, do so sparingly.
Unless you're Chuck Wendig. ;)



2. Ease up on the lingo.
It's okay to abbreviate—especially on Twitter—but lolz ur not a 13 y/o grl.



1. Watch the grammar.
Everything reflects your work. EVERYTHING. So, we're going to have a little refresher via this handy-dandy infographic. :) Thanks, Copyblogger!

15 Grammar Goofs That Make You Look Silly
Like this infographic? Get more copywriting tips from Copyblogger.

Whew! I feel better. Don't you? :) Just remember, professional =/= formal. It's okay to still have fun!

Question of the Week:

Do you have any tips for acting like a pro online?

Have a great week, guys! ♥
 P.S. I'm a hypocrite, and you'll never take my emoticons from me. Bwahahaha!

58 comments:

Elise Fallson said...

Great advice and love the info graphic! LOL at the rotting brother. :D

S.P. Bowers said...

I always have problems with affect/effect.

Great post. It can be so easy to forget to be professional on the internet. Especially if you're sitting alone at home in your pajamas while surfing/blogging.

JeffO said...

#6 on the grammar list Drives. Me. Crazy. And yeah, Chuck Wendig has elevated profanity to an art form, like the father in "A Christmas Story."

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Those are good!
And the five tips are spot-on. Every comment matters.

Giles Hash said...

Great advice! Especially #4. Opinions are great, but sometimes they don't need to be shared :). That's why I don't post on politics on my blog.

Elizabeth Seckman said...

Great post. Many things to ponder...and study!

Melissa said...

Great post! Agree - the rotting brother is hilarious. xD

Infer and imply is another pair I see people mix up. :\

Meredith said...

Great tips! It's so very important to be professional online.

ilima said...

Gr8 tipz. & I <3 the grammar rulz, lol. :)

Peggy Eddleman said...

Ooo! Great tips! I SO agree. Especially on the limiting the scope of your reaction. Unless it's an excited reaction. ;)

Nancy Thompson said...

This is one area I have a firm grasp on. I think it's inherent for me, thankfully. And oh, I hate all that texting lingo and get quite irritated when I see teenagers use it, let alone adults. OY!

Dana Mason said...

Oh, yes! I have a tip-okay, I have a few tips. :)
1. Keep your bias opinions to yourself. I'm not talking political, I'm talking about everything else on the planet.
I too often see people make offending comments, yet remain clueless to who they are offending.
2. I would also suggests that people don't openly mock a reviewer who has just given them a 5 star review because the grammar in the review was poor. This is very bad form.
3. And, you know, it doesn't hurt to focus on the positive once in a while. It's not bad if someone has a crappy day and posts about it, but not everyday.

Yes, I have some issues with what I've been seeing lately on social media sites, but as I try to follow your above tips and my own, I can't openly rant about them so you get to hear about them here. :) Just remember, you asked.
Thanks so much for the reminder, Carrie, and for the great post. Here's hoping EVERYONE pays attention.

Anonymous said...

Wonderful post--I got a kick out of that grammar one! I want to print it out and show it to my students:-)So hard for them to remember!! I mean, not MY students, since they have such an awesome teacher, but others . . . ;-)

Bethany Elizabeth said...

Great reminders - I think I do fairly well on most of these, but I do make my fair share of mistakes. I'm also terrible at spelling, but I try my hardest. :) Great post!

Joylene Nowell Butler said...

Drats, you missed the one I have problems with: lie, lay, ly. Did I miss one?

These are super-duper reminders, Ms Butler. Mercy-buckets

Lisa Regan said...

That's awesome and you're right about all of it. I love Chuck Wendig too. Hah hah hah. Anyway, yeah, I have seen writers I actually liked go off on political/religious rants online before and even though I may have agreed or seen their point, it was a big turn-off. I think you should stick to reading and writing when presenting your online writerly persona!

Tammy Theriault said...

that graphic roll of proper grammar was cute! i would say TMI is a no go. some people really do way too many personal things...

Morgan said...

Love it, Carrie. You're such a pro ;-)

Tara Tyler said...

that was fab, gf!
and the grammar tips felt like an old school film strip! ha!

Carrie Butler said...

Thanks, Elise! :) Hah! That was my favorite part, too. It sold me on the whole re-posting thing.

Carrie Butler said...

That's one of my speed bumps, too. Sneaky words!

Thanks, S.P! :) Ah, this is very true...

Carrie Butler said...

I always see people posting about The Biggest Looser, and I'm like, "Stop that!"

Carrie Butler said...

Thanks, Alex! :D

Carrie Butler said...

Thanks, Giles! :) I'm the same way. I'd rather have people comfortable around here.

Carrie Butler said...

Thanks, Elizabeth! :D

Carrie Butler said...

Thanks, Melissa!

Infer and imply are a pair I don't mix up anymore, because someone called me out on it once. Out loud. It was embarrassing. xD

Carrie Butler said...

Thanks, Meredith! :D

Carrie Butler said...

Hah! Oh, Ilima. You made my afternoon. ;)

Carrie Butler said...

Thanks, Pegasus! :) Oo, good point. It's okay to be extremely excited--especially in the writing world!

Carrie Butler said...

I just resisted the urge to text you with nothing but texting lingo. It was really difficult. LOL

Michael Di Gesu said...

THIS was AWESOME, Carrie,

We ALL get sloppy from time to time and we need to be REMINDED that our grammar should be spot on. Especially in writing our posts. Because you just never know WHO is reading.

Samantha May said...

I saw another great post about using literally. Basically, it's when people use it correctly but it's still not necessary to use it.

"I literally drove to work today."

See? It's like "Um...yes. I suppose you did." :D

Donna K. Weaver said...

These are great guidelines. I think I may just ignore reviews.

Carrie Butler said...

Hah! Dana, you rock. Seriously, I love this list. :D Thank you!

Carrie Butler said...

Exactly! Your students have an awesome teacher. This stuff is cake for them. ;)

Thanks, Jamie!

Carrie Butler said...

Thanks, Bethany!

I'm the same way, but that's okay. We learn from our mistakes. :)

Carrie Butler said...

Oo, I hate that one! Thankfully, that's why we have Melissa Maygrove and her Grammar Police files. :D

Thank you!

Carrie Butler said...

Thanks, Lisa!

I'm the same way. Once I see someone have a major rant or hissy fit, it taints the way I view them. *shakes her head* It's so avoidable!

Carrie Butler said...

Thanks, Tammy! :) Oo, that's a good one. There are some things we really don't need to know...

Carrie Butler said...

Thanks, Morgan! If nothing else, I try hard. ;)

You're the real pro here!

Carrie Butler said...

Thanks, Tara!

Hah! Yeah, this would've made for an excellent film strip. ;)

Carrie Butler said...

Thanks, Michael!

I agree. Sometimes it's something we're not even conscious of. We just need little reminders here and there. :)

Carrie Butler said...

Hah! How awkward is that? You can practically hear crickets!

Carrie Butler said...

Thanks, Donna! :)

Anonymous said...

I agree with the profanity. I do not use any F-bombs at all. Why? I just don;t think there is anything to gain.

And I gave you a shout out today!

Carrie Butler said...

Good point, Stephen! :) And thank you. I'll check it out!

Unknown said...

I save my profanity for singing alone in the car...and for work. Haha. There's a lot of profanity in construction. it was good for me to brush up on the grammar. I'm thrilled I knew most of them. :)

Sheena-kay Graham said...

Colourful advice Carrie. Thanks.

Emily R. King said...

SO true! I can't bring myself to abbreviate, not even on numbers. Oh, and I punctuate my texts. Ha!

Carrie Butler said...

That's okay, Michael. I save mine for hockey season. *grins*

Carrie Butler said...

No problem, Sheena-kay! :)

Carrie Butler said...

Hah! I bet it takes a while to type those text messages. Whenever I try, my phone ends up saying something like, "Oranges comb sing over to play?" ;)

Optimistic Existentialist said...

I never use profanity online. Great tips and I just wanted to say I love your blog Carrie :)

Carrie Butler said...

Thanks, Keith! It's great to have you here. :)

Brooke R. Busse said...

I love this graphic. 0-0 I'm so glad you posted it, Carrie, because some of those, especially the first few, really grate on my nerves. More people need to know how to use them correctly. Plus, I learned a few things. :)

Carrie Butler said...

Thanks, Brooke! I don't know about you, but I kind of wish these rules were glued to the side of Facebook. *grins*

Clare said...

Excellent tips, Carrie, and ones I try to follow myself. People with judge you and your writing based on how you present yourself on blogs/ social media, so you should make a good impression.

Carrie Butler said...

Thanks, Clare! You're absolutely right. It's all about making a good impression. :)