So… I am not in high school anymore.

I won’t name names right now, but I’d like to put those of you who will later decide to be a drain on the social web on notice. This is the last time I offer this courtesy. Next time, the gloves come off.

What is my deal? Why should you even be reading this? Well, bear with me. I swear I have a broader lesson in how to properly social network in here. Eventually.

In the past month or so, all of these things have happened:

• I have been attacked a few times on Twitter for making completely uncontroversial comments. It has gotten to the point where comments are so snarky and rude on Twitter that I have even created a new tag of #hecklers and vowed to block and publicly out anyone who jumps down my throat for no good reason. Anyone who knows me at all knows I welcome civilized (and even snarky) debate, but there must be some attempt to have an adult conversation in there somewhere.
• The tone on Twitter lately seems to have taken on a much less collaborative and positive atmosphere as certain twitholes are coming in who see putting others down as the best way to boost their own credibility. (Hint: this ain’t the way to do it).
• I know of several online friends who have been the focus of rather vicious blog/Twitter attacks. Again, there is plenty of room for differing opinions about things. What there isn’t room for is people who flat out target someone and attack. If you don’t agree with the way someone is behaving on Twitter or in the blogosphere, there is no reason you can’t disagree in a polite and adult manner. This means being pleasant, and it means being open to other opinions. It means being FAIR. And it means if you are attacking because of a personal gripe or bias, being upfront about it. Oh, and here’s a little hint here, too. If you throw a popular social networking blogger under a bus for your own gain, you will suffer the consequences.

This, quite frankly, is the bad side to the power of blogging and social networking. Because, really, it IS like high school. There are popular people and unpopular people, nice people and mean people, the manipulators and the helpers, the givers and the takers.

I know I promised a lesson here somewhere, and yes I realize I am rambling. Here it is. When you socialize online, you are still socializing and you are still participating in a community. You should think about how your statements reflect on your personal brand (or company brand). If you say something snippy or snarky or rude, ask if you would say it the same way if you were face to face with that person. If the answer is no, you might want to ramp it down a bit. (Plus, very few people are really impressed by rudeness.)

If you display the characteristics of a jerk, it might work briefly. You might see some small gains.

But be very careful. You will quickly burn through all your social equity. Soon, you will find you have no reach and the work you put into social networking now means nothing. In fact, it means worse than nothing because now you have people spreading bad word of mouth about you at a hectic pace.

So always remember you are in a community. Remember your blog kharma, and remember to be on Twitter and other social networks to give and help first and not to take.

_{Photo of social drama, © Samantha Mesones.}

Seriously, though, I love that Twitter sees that moms are such a force on Twitter (and I totally adore any link love from such a major blog, with a PR7 no less!). We are a force. We are taking over the world. We’re just starting at the Twitter level. Baby steps for moms, 140 characters at a time.

Watch out world!

I’ve stumbled (which, for the record, I still totally love), sphunn (is that a word?), dugg, spaced, facebooked, you name it. I netscaped until it propellered. I have a secondlife (but do I even have a life?). I babblzed until it fizzled.

Some are more enjoyable than others, and some are better for networking than others. Some will bring a torrent of traffic that, I suspect, never returned. Some boosted a site’s PageRank, odds are likely. Some connected me with old and new friends.

MySpace is too filled with spam, pre-pubescents and glittering graphics for my taste. Honestly, I know Facebook is supposed to be so hot, but I just can’t get into it. You know why? I don’t have the time to delve into it. And I don’t really WANT graffiti.

But then I discovered Twitter. Oh, to Twitter. My day consists of not a single stretch to focus on one thing for more than, oh, a millisecond. Then there’s a whine, cry, dog who needs to piss, kid who wants to be fed, blog I need to write, web article that needs editing… Like every mom, this list is endless.

Twitter’s genius lies in the beauty of 140 characters. It lies in the ability to send without even opening a new browser window, without even needing a computer.

I don’t have time for much, but I have time to Tweet. That I can do. Microblogging is social networking for time-deprived, short-attention spanned mom.

Beyond that, it’s also appealing to a mom. It’s more intimate and personal. You see a page full of faces, you see what they’re saying. It’s a real conversation. It’s also very effective. When I see a link posted by one of these moms, women I’ve never met or said more than 140 characters at a time to, I click it.

I can talk to the momosphere, and I can do it quickly. Better yet, I can listen to the momosphere. Very cool.

What do you think? Why do you Twitter (or not)? And hey, don’t forget to follow me on Twitter.