Let’s face it; we are all “That Guy” once in a while.   We are human, wonderfully flawed – it just happens.  But by keeping a few little things in mind, you can avoid hitting “That Guy” syndrome too often.

1. Don’t share a “news item” you have not verified.  A few weeks ago Facebook was over run by posts of a helicopter crash that occurred in August.  People were posting about it like it was yesterday.   No one took the time to verify the story or the timing of the story.
2. You just broke up with your boyfriend/girlfriend and you posted a “somewhat” personal photo of them that they sent to you while you were together.  Aside of just looking like an ass, do you really want to trash the memory of what you had by being that nasty?
3. You are perpetually lamenting / whining / moaning / etc.   If life is that bad, get off Facebook and get thee onto a psychiatrist’s couch.   Furthermore, I have ZERO motivation to do business with you if I think you’ll hang yourself should the deal not be perfect.
4. We all have bad days… when you have one STEP AWAY FROM THE COMPUTER.  I don’t care how much I love you, watching you trash your ex, boss, kids, or life in general only makes you look pathetic…. Stop it.  If you were standing in front of me, I’d smack you upside the head.
5. You perpetually share other people’s material and nothing about you.  If I don’t know who you are, what you think or feel (don’t get carried away – see above), then I will probably not do business with you.
6. I completely support you having an opinion.  I also completely support you expressing that opinion in a polite non-confrontational way.  If you get mad at me for expressing my opinion then you are THAT GUY.  People disagree all the time, but don’t post it on my wall, let’s go out and have a beer and yell at each other in person.
7. You ram your products down my throat and post your crap on my wall.  This is just gross…. If you have not taken the time to find out who I am or if I even need your stuff, you lose the right to pitch me in any way.
8. Don’t PM me to tell me I’m pretty, you want to “get to know me” if we just connected – it’s just creepy.  Feel free to connect, get to know me, share something nice – but don’t come on to me with guns blazing, that’s an automatic disconnect.
9. Stop friending porn profiles… seriously – that crap appears in your stream, and it only forces me to block you or remove you as a friend.
10. Half naked profile pictures are almost as bad as those kissy pucker lipped profile pictures, or the “hey I’m sexy” head tilt attempts.  Unless this is the pose you walk around with all the time (I can’t see how you’d manage it and not trip over yourself), don’t do it.  A decent head shot, a photo of you enjoying an event (clothed) will get you much further.
11. You are pretending to be someone you’re not.
12. You post in all caps.  I’ve tried to read these, I just can’t do it.  I can literally hear you screaming in my head.
13. You ask me to “Like” your page and don’t post a link to it…  self-explanatory.
14. You In-Mail me a pitch without looking at my profile or knowing if I need or want your product  / service (I’ve even received “pitches” from “Social Media Consultants” offering their services to help my business ~  REALLY?)

I handle “That Guy/Girl” in a number of different ways.  I have deleted some, but sometimes I will allow the posts to stay on my wall with a note under it saying “Thank you for giving me a perfect example of what not to do in social media.”   Yes, it’s obnoxious… hummmm… I guess I can be “That Girl” sometimes.