Today we count down the five worst (and most frequently committed) online faux pas that we witnessed in 2009. Hopefully, history won’t repeat itself in 2010.

1

Following porn. Sometimes people have a bad habit of automatically following back everyone who follows them on Twitter.

But it just makes you look like a social media loser when you don’t pay attention to the names and bios of who you follow (like hotsuzy — camgirl), and you start following accounts created for porn or for spam.

2

Talking smack about your job online. If you wouldn’t say it to the boss, don’t say it on Facebook or Twitter. It’s amazing how many folks complain about work — during work hours — on places like Twitter. Maybe they think their bosses aren’t wise enough to see what they’re writing. But nothing is truly private online, and someone you work with is likely to see it.

3

Sending private messages publicly. Twitter and Facebook are all about instant communication. But we get so used to responding quickly on the go, that maybe we’re moving too fast and not thinking before we hit send. Every so often you’ll see someone send a message on Twitter that probably wasn’t designed for the world to see. Like: Hey, call my cell 305-555-5555 to talk about that exclusive secret business deal.

You can rush to delete it, but nothing is ever erased on Twitter. It gets picked up by search engines, even if it only exists online for a few seconds.

4

Responding to e-mail with Reply All. We’ve had e-mail for awhile now, but it’s still a hot zone for netiquette disaster. Why do people hit “Reply all” in mass messages when it’s not something everyone needs to read? It only adds to the in-box clutter and could make you look foolish.

5

Unintentionally sending spam or malicious links. Please, think twice before you click a strange link. You can’t be so trusting on social networks these days. Facebook and Twitter accounts are being infected by malicious links through private messages. Click a strange link, and you won’t be aware that you sent spam or a virus to most of your connections. And if you are a business account, you just lost the trust and respect of many of your followers.