Written by Bexiita Ackland
There are a million articles out there on what not to do on social media.
We all know it’s seriously uncool to do the “Grrrrrr… Some people!” status, as well as the “busy busy busy!” humble brag and the “U ok hon?” attention bait. And while your social media account is your own business, and you are free to share or not share whatever you choose, here are Ten Commandments to help you not be a total dick on social media in the world of Pole.
1 Thou Shalt Appreciate Other People’s Stuff
Comment, like, even share it. Don’t just post your own stuff and sit back waiting for plaudits. Interact with people, reply, respond, look at and comment on other peoples stuff. It’s a two way street. It’s a conversation, not a monologue, even if you are totally awesome.
2 Thou Shalt Not Drink And Internet
You would be amazed at the amount of enquiries I get late on Friday nights when people get home from the pub. I get even more on bank holidays, even on Christmas Day and New Year. An 11pm message about a new beginners’ course after a few shandies that will never amount to anything once the drink has worn off, but still we must respond to all the questions about what to wear and is everybody the size and shape of a stick insect. On the other hand if you are out on the town and taking photos of drunken splits on the dance floor, then post away
3 Thou Shalt Give Credit Where Credit Is Due
If you are inspired by someone, or seen something you’d like to try, it’s good to share that with them. Chances are they’ll be chuffed to bits, and will probably offer you some tips if you ask. Similarly don’t rip off people’s style, creativity, choreography, ideas, or logos. Facebook, Instagram and all the rest are social networks. Networking means you give, and you take. The person you are inspired by may not have created the move, but if you saw them do it, thought hey, that’s pretty cool, and tried it, let them know. I guarantee it will make them smile. However…
4 Thou Shalt Not Be A Credit Pedant
Don’t insist that every single move ever done is referenced back to whoever did ot first, or get unnecessarily prissy about names. A simple “that looks cool, we call it a flying donut” or “it’s really similar to something we’ve been working on” will suffice rather than a demand to use its “proper” name to piss all over someone’s bonfire AND rain on their parade simultaneously. It’s highly likely that someone, somewhere in the world will have come up with a similar move to someone else at any given time. Getting into a fight over names will just alert everyone to the fact that you’re a bit petty and sad. Let people have their things. Don’t be that person.
5 Thou Shalt Throw In A Bit Of Local Colour
As we have already said, it’s your social media account, and you should share what you feel comfortable with. You should absolutely not feel pressured to share personal details of your life. But I admit I like it when the people I follow online share some local colour about their lives. We may have never met, but I love to know that as well as being a badass poler you also have a dog called Rover, kids who kick arse at basketball and you love Breaking Bad and collect stamps. There’s an element of stalking to social media and these little nuggets make us feel more like friends than internet acquaintances. I also want to see you getting drunk with your mates as it makes you seem more like me and less like an untouchable pole deity.
6 Thou Shalt Not Do That Weird Passive Aggressive Thing
“I am so proud of you, you have come so far since I taught you this in my studio and I took a photo and I showed you everything you know about pole”. Yes well done, I’m sure that person couldn’t have possibly made any progress whatsoever in their pole journey without that one time you trained together.
7 Thou Shalt Follow Beginners
Think you can’t learn anything from people who aren’t at your level? Think again. Nothing is as disappointing as normal Pole mortals who get a name for themselves, and suddenly will only interact with other big names
Of course, who you follow on Instagram is entirely your choice. Maybe you like to keep it select as a busy timeline is too addictive. Maybe you don’t like pictures of dogs or quinoa. Maybe you think you can’t learn anything from beginners. You can. Plus who knows where the next big thing will come from?
*I’m actually crap at this. I don’t check Instagram that much and often think I’m following people I’m not. So maybe this Commandment should actually be “Don’t have too many social media accounts”. Let’s face it, nobody needs Google Plus.
8 Thou Shalt Not Get Into Arguments
The Internet is a big place full of people with different opinions. Some of those people may disagree with you but still have interesting points to make. Some of those people are just dicks. In person you may have a wonderful respectful and informative discussion with someone with a different viewpoint to you, from which you may both learn something, but online you can’t convey subtleties of discussion, even with all the emoticons at your disposal. Arguing with strangers on the Internet about pole is time consuming and pointless. You won’t change anyone’s mind, and they won’t change yours. If someone is being obnoxious, chuck it in the f**k it bucket and move on.
9 Thou Shalt Use Hashtags Wisely
Here are some good hashtags to use: #pole #poledance #poleprogress #unitedbypole (you get the idea). And thanks to Shimmy we now know to add #pd to any pole dance move hashtags, ie #pdtitanic to find pics of the pole dance move titanic, rather than pictures of the doomed vessel or a young waterlogged Leonardo DiCaprio. Also check your hashtag spelling, nobody is searching Instagram for #striperheals (but maybe they should). But don’t go mad and hashtag every word #nobody #wants #to #decipher #this.
10 Thou Shalt Not Let Other People Make You Feel Like Crap.
Don’t lose sight of why you go on social media in the first place. It’s to learn, support and encourage, not to feel shit. Don’t resent other people’s achievements. Don’t just see the things you can’t do. Don’t overthink it, don’t feel you need to keep sharing ever more impressive stuff. It’s just social media. If you don’t post every day, guess what? No one minds. No one even notices. There are 7 billion people on this earth, and most of them are only too busy worrying about themselves to care what you post. Don’t let it get you down.