First impressions are a funny thing. Yes, we all try to put our best foot forward when meeting new people, but it’s my experience that no matter how many times we practice our elevator pitches, no matter how many times we adjust that tie, change that outfit, and try to get that one errant strand of hair to stay in place, there’s a chance we’re going to flub that whole nice-to-meet-you, let’s-exchange-cards thing. I know I’ve done it countless times.

Take for instance the simple handshake. If you’re like me, you’ve botched this thing more times than you may want to admit. 

Sometimes the approach is just wrong and you end up coming in over the top and connecting, the back of your hand up, like you’re Queen Elizabeth and you’re expecting a visiting dignitary to kiss the ring. 

Other times the person you’re about to shake with grabs nothing but fingers and gives you a rather painful squeeze.

Then there are those times where you’ve nailed the landing, but you’re worried you won’t give a solid enough grip and then worry that you might be overcompensating and end up floundering the whole thing with a wet fish handshake. 

And that right there is why I don’t put much stock in first impressions. At least of the face-to-face variety. The same doesn’t apply to social media. You flub it there and your reputation might be ruined forever. 

To help you keep your reputation intact and to ensure you always make a great first social media impression, I’ve compiled six rules that should govern your social media behavior.

1. Never shy away from posting funny pet videos. It doesn’t matter if it’s of a dog, a cat, or a parakeet, this is precisely the type of content we all need more of in our lives.

2. When you’re posting that inspirational message, check to see if the person quoted is correct. Albert Einstein can’t be responsible for saying everything.

3. It’s OK to talk trash about a rival college sports team, but it’s not cool to brand entire political parties enemies of the people. We’re all in this together, folks. Even Gamecock fans.

4. Don’t post or share videos of private people filmed in public doing embarrassing things. Public shaming is a dish best served never. 

5. Spoilers are to be discouraged within the first week after a movie or TV show has premiered. That is unless it’s totally and hilariously false. Then feel free to let everybody know that Thanos kills Dumbledore in a dance off between the Sharks and the Jets.

6. If you feel the need to correct someone’s grammar, you should know full well that you will—and I repeat, you will—make a grammatical error while doing so. 

So there you have it, the laws I live by when it comes to social media. They’re not exactly legally enforceable, but adhering to them will do you a bit of good. They might even help make this world a little bit of a better place. 

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George Sink Jr. can’t use his own name to market his North Charleston law firm, judge says (Post & Courier)

BMW And Michelin Officials Discuss Their Ride-Sharing, Earth-Friendly, Self-Driving Future (Greenville Business Magazine)

Turner Padget Attorney Reggie Belcher On The Workplace's Biggest Legal Issues (Columbia Business Monthly)

Santee Cooper an accomplice, not a victim in VC Summer nuclear fiasco, lawsuit alleges (The State)

Understand SC: What’s driving Charleston’s rapid hotel boom, and what happens next? (Post & Courier)

Variance paves way for new Vista hotel (SCBiz)

Big subdivisions, a cell tower, asphalt plant among latest pitches for York County (The Herald)

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Hires & Honors

Eric Guimaraes and Makenzie Polston have joined Columbia-based The McKay Firm. Guimaraes was previously a Richland County solicitor while Polston served as a judicial law clerk in the Tenth Judicial Circuit.