Respect Your Network. Don't Be An Overposter.

Okay, this week we’re going to discuss overposting – both from companies/organizations and individuals.

It’s a sure-fire way to find yourself removed from newsfeeds, “unfollow”ed on Twitter or perhaps the cruelest of all the social media fates: unfriended on Facebook.

Though frustrating while on a laptop or a desktop, overposting is particularly unwelcome when cruising your desired social media outlet on the small screen of your mobile device.

There is nothing worse than having your morning tinker on your smart-phone (perhaps from the comfort of your own bed, someone else’s bed, breakfast nook or porcelain throne) and seeing 80% of your newsfeed filled with a myriad of inspirational pictures from one single user.

You know the type of pictures I’m talking about:

I get it. You’ve found a quote to live by, and I am very happy for you… but six of them in the row? Posted two minutes apart, rapid-fire, over the course of an hour? 

Now let's check out another example of rapid-posting, as seen on through a Facebook timeline. This fellow's timeline undoubtedly induces seizures on a regular basis. Don't get me wrong, I love a good Ecard... but not every seven minutes.

          

And it’s not just individuals who are guilty of overposting. For some reason, some companies think that if they ignore their social media accounts for an extended period of time, they can make up for it in one spurt of overposting. Unfortunately, five posts in the one day is not equivalent to one post a day, over the course of five days.

A good social media strategy requires constant attention, nurturing and consistent engagement. If you’ve been ignoring your Facebook or Twitter account for a week, don’t think that you can make up for it in one afternoon of overposting.

But don’t take my word for it: a new study has found that the top two reasons users cite for unfriending or unliking on Facebook are “overposting” and “overcrowded walls.”

Check out more on this subject, along with some snazzy graphs, here.

In the end, I am a simple man, trying to make a simple point: Don’t post just for the sake of posting. The last thing you want to be is the “Johnny (or Janey) Overpost” of your social network.

It's a social media website, not a dating website...

A wise man (with a gnarly blog) once said, “The best sign of a healthy relationship is no sign of it on Facebook.”

Despite the comment receiving upwards of 65 “likes” on Facebook, it also initiated fierce backlash from a couple of users who were particularly fond of airing their relationship-related laundry on said social network.

Admittedly, the comment may have exaggerated the issue of relationships on social media to a hilarious and clever extreme, but the general point is still an accurate one.

If you do find yourself entangled in the throws of a budding romance, exercise discretion with updates and profile picture choices. If the first dozen or so pictures one sees when viewing your profile look like this:

  Followed by comments like this:

        
     
…Then it may be time to think about toning it down a tad. This young lady appears to have done nothing else but kiss her boyfriend (from a variety of angles) throughout the latter course of 2012.

At the end of the day, we must remember: It’s a social media profile –serving as a digital representation of our physical lives– and it shouldn’t look like a drunken sexcapade through the photo booth at the mall.