Social media has captured everyone’s attention these days, especially businesses who want to capitalize on personal networking. In a recent article on The Morning News, Margaret Mason lists fourteen ways to use Twitter politely. She divides Twitter users into two types: those who broadcast, blog-style, and those who use the service to chat with each other. Some of her tips:

• Remember everyone can hear you. This goes not just for Twitter, but for Facebook and even e-mail.
• What’s rude in life is rude in Twitter. We feel a certain imaginary invulnerability when using the Internet. Being mean will come back to bite you.
• Think twice before Twittering in an altered state. Again, this goes for any type of communication that doesn’t require stamp-licking effort.

Whether you’re Twittering on a corporate account, starting a blog, or just shooting your co-worker an e-mail, take the time to polish your writing. Electronic communication is marvelously easy — which means broadcasting your mistakes is marvelously easy, too.