So Tired of Spam

I'm sure you will all agree. We are inundated by spam emails, spam comments and spam 'friending.' But a new breed of spammers has come - those that are disguised as genuine but quickly turn to the online networking darkside.

Let me explain...

I've been a member of many online forums over the years. I'm on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn. I also network on two online communities exclusively. The reason I chose these two communities is because the moderators were actually....moderating. They don't accept everyone that fills out the application to join. They have criteria. They knock out spam and blatant self promotion.

I've found there's a fine line between promoting yourself in an online community and coming across as 'spammy.' Online communities are about information sharing and relationship building. Those relationships may turn into a sale down the road, or they may not. There's a growing number of people that are stepping over the line to what is appropriate. They will post a public comment with a sentence or two of valuable information. Then the rest is made up of - 'I can get you the best whatever at a great price - contact us today!' This is not a part of their signature line, but rather a sales pitch tacked on the end of what was formerly an appropriate response.

Here are my personal do's and don'ts for online networking:

Don't:

• Send Facebook messages, LinkedIn messages, Twitter DM's or post in forums that people should contact you to buy your latest product/service
• Answer 'call me for a proposal or call me for help' when someone posts a question in a forum. They are posting in a forum to get an answer there. If they wanted paid services, they would reach out. If they ask specifically for a referral for paid services, then respond.

Do:

• Contact people to make connections (take an interest in what they are doing without a hidden agenda)
• Send information on free classes, products, seminars to your group of connections that opt to receive them
• Answer questions with meaningful responses. You can absolutely include your contact information but do not include a call to action like 'call me and I'll tell you about my products/service

What do you think? Do you think it's OK to infuse sales into our online networking practices? When has someone gone too far?