WebProNews

To some people, social media's a shiny, happy, ball o' fun.  Or at least an invaluable marketing tool.  There are dangers, however, and during a session at BlogWorld titled "Social Media: The Bad and the Ugly," four experts outlined six of them.

(Coverage of the BlogWorld conference continues at WebProNews Videos.  Keep an eye on WebProNews for more notes and videos from the event this week.)

The first is the unforgiving nature of the loud minority.  Wayne Sutton, who runs the blog SocialWayne and is a partner at OurHashtag, recommended addressing it by thinking about the long term when you post online.  Amber Naslund, Radian6's director of community, also advised doing your own research and being careful before reacting.

Robert Scoble, who founded Building43 not too long ago, then added that you should think about your brand and what you want it to be known for.

The second dangerous trend of social media is, according to the speakers, the mob mentality.  Naslund echoed Scoble's tip about representing your brand, and pointed out that we must be responsible and accountable if we demand respect. 

Next, be wary of unreasonable time expectations.  Patrick O'Keefe, the founder and owner of the iFroggy Network, said it's important to remember that everyone has time constraints.  Naslund suggested being humble and honest.  And Scoble took that a step further by recommending that you not assume everyone knows who you are.

The fourth dangerous trend then relates to self-entitlement.  The fifth is forcing everyone to use all tools and communities in the same way.  Finally, the sixth is all about sock puppets.  O'Keefe stressed that social media users need to build trust, with Sutton explicitly saying that you should disclose things and be open with the community.

WebProNews Video reporter/anchor Abby Johnson contributed to this report.