How to win friends and influence enemies – On line

Social Networks, Blogs, News Forums and More Advice on How to Participate in Online Discussions From News and Networking Website Executive There’s no question how much we rely on the Internet, for entertainment, communication, information and social connections. But with all the time we spend online, do we really know how we should behave? Are we being kind to one and other? Is it okay to be rude? Are we protected? Are there rules we should be following? Today, it’s more common than ever to share our ideas and opinions online. Millions upon millions of us have profiles on social networking sites like MySpace. News sources offer public forums encouraging public comment. And according to a recent data, there are more than 70 million blogs on the net, with 1.4 new ones appearing every second. But are we Keeping our cool during an online debate, or do we lose sight of the fact that we are actually talking to another human being on the other end of the stream? Taking responsibility for what we put out there, do we consider the fact that, as internet users, we leave a virtual paper trail, anonymity is not always as concrete as it seems? Knowledgeable about the terms of service for some of our favorite online haunts, do we know that you can’t just post anything; do we know what were getting into? Maintaining our privacy, or is online privacy an illusion? Participating online is an art and there are benefits to doing it well. Available to talk to your listeners about the best ways to communicate online is Chris Tolles, the CEO of Topix.com. Topix, the largest site on the Web dedicated to local news, lets users to share, discuss and even give eyewitness reports on the news in ways never before possible. About the talent: Chris Tolles the CEO of Topix.com. He was co-founder and VP of marketing for Spoke Software, a business social networking company and has worked in marketing at numerous internet companies. He attended the University of California at San Diego, receiving degrees in Computer Science and Economics. He was awarded the Michael J. Addison award for his senior thesis about the online information industry. This interview is sponsored by Topix.com.