Okay, I admit the title is a bit over the top. These ten tips aren't exactly secrets and they won't, in and of themselves, turn you a social media superstar.

Stated more accurately, these are practical guidelines that will make you a better member of social networking communities in which you participate. (But, if I used that as the title, would you have read the post?)

1. Pull, don’t push

One of the first lessons you will learn very quickly when engaging in social media is that old school marketing tactics don't work. Don’t come out of the gate pushing your products or services. New tools require new rules.

For example, don't respond to new Twitter followers with a "Thanks for following. Visit my Web site for a free...[insert whatever promotional message you've seen.]." That's a dead giveaway that the offender is new to social media and has yet to understand that it's a "pull" medium, not "push."