Ah! the Facebook faut-pas continues. The more I talk to people about Facebook, the more I learn what offends people. The last conversation was around photos being posted at a party or company trade show event and someone in the photo didn't want to be on a co-worker's Wall. It was an innocent photo that could look really bad outside of context. Think of a man or a woman with a group of co-workers of the opposite sex. Would a husband, wife, or neighbor be confused by this kind of picture, maybe?Maybe not. The point is everyone has different levels of comfort around what happens on Facebook, so it's best to ask people and act conservatively in lieu of getting your friends unnecessarily upset.

Below are some good guidelines to follow in regards to posting photos on Facebook or other photo sharing sites. Some I have always practiced. Some I learned through others, and some I learned the hard way.

Parties: There are so many kinds of parties. Birthday. Anniversary, Wedding. Company. Baby. You attend these parties very often not thinking that a friend may be offended when you post photos to a party they weren't invited to. Other cases can include posting photos to a wedding for your recently divorced friend to see. There are many sensitive issues going on, so it's a good rule of thumb to uses the custom sharing features on Facebook albums. You can limit who sees photo albums and even hide from people you don't want to see the album. For example, if you are dead set on posting pool party photos of you drinking with your friends, you might hide the album from your parents' friends. They don't want to see you in that environment. 

Photos with drinks in hand: I once had the opportunity to study opera with Sherrill Milnes, famed bass-baritone. While we were participating in his vocal workshop, we had the occasion to go out as a group and have our pictures taken. Sherrill would hide his drink behind his back. When I inquired he told me that even if it's a soda, you look like you drink too much when you are in a photo with a drink in your hand. Ever since then, I've been careful about those types of photos. 

Great Facebook photos: These can be of you going to dinner with your family, holidays, your children, nieces & nephews, animals & pets, and some vacations. You may not want to post your month long European tour to a friend who just lost a job, but overall travel photos can be very entertaining and joyful. 

Please be considerate of your friends and be responsible as your share your information with the world. You can!