Practising good etiquette in the 3-dimensional world is just as important as practising it online. Faux pas exist everywhere – and regardless of whether or not they occur on- or offline, the reactions don’t vary that much. That being said, here’s a quick ‘n easy guide to practising good Twitter-quette.

1. Protecting your Tweets doesn’t necessarily protect you from ReTweets and Quotes. Therefore, it would be a good idea not to Tweet anything you’d be embarrassed to see elsewhere on the internet/Twitter. (That’s applicable to people with protected and unprotected Tweets alike!)
2. Yeah, sure you just walked past someone you consider hideous and you’ve *got* to take a Twitpic of the person – again, someone may innocently RT it and after completing a quick circle in the Twittersphere, it turns out that the person is a heavyweight in the public. Whoops!
3. If you want to have a conversation with another Tweep – that’s fine, but if you don’t want anyone randomly running in on that conversation and participating, then don’t do it publicly; that’s what Direct Messaging is for!
4. This one ought to go without saying – don’t say anything that could compromise your employment situation. Seriously, your boss may not be on your list of followers, but someone who knows your boss just may be – and then, again, there’s that RT thing. What you say may be funny, but once it gets RT’d enough you could land in hot water!
5. If someone you follow has said something interesting and you’d like to share via RT’ing, don’t leave them off – give credit to the one who wrote it first.
6. There’s a follow button and an unfollow button. If someone has opted to unfollow you, it’s not the end of the world. Don’t whinge about it ad nauseam – if at all. It’s really not that serious. Besides, if the stuff you’re Tweeting about is relevant/important, your follower count will increase. If you Tweet it, they will come.
7. Multitasking is great – but seriously, you don’t need to Tweet about what’s going on in the bathroom while you’re taking care of business. Seriously.
8. First there was drunk-calling and drunk-texting, now there’s drunk-Tweeting. If you’re hitting the bars and Tweeting throughout your adventure, it may seem funny while you’re under the influence – but come tomorrow morning, your Tweets may just be a massive source of regret/embarrassment.
9. Back to multitasking and Twitter, try not to live Tweet during TV shows. I have a bunch of followers who do it – and I, myself, may post one or two Tweets while watching TV. But, when you have say 10 followers all watching the same show and live-Tweeting simultaneously, your timeline (TL) gets congested and Twitter is suddenly no longer fun (at least until the show’s over!) If you must live-Tweet, then keep it to a bare minimum or perhaps a summary, at the end of the show.
10. Unless you’re completely grounded and confident in your relationship, try to minimise (or completely eliminate) specific references to your significant other on your TL. Some of the people following you may not necessarily be your ‘friend’ and just may feel like causing a bit of trouble in your personal life.

There are loads of other tips that can be included – if you have additional ones, why not share them in the comments section below?

PS: Don’t take the guide too seriously…