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Post by Eric Brantner
As social media has become increasingly popular, trends have developed in the people using them. Social media users fall into one or more of these descriptions. Which type of social media user are you?

1. Sir Spam-a-Lot- Everyone is familiar with this social media user. This is the guy who submits spam, spams the comment section, tries to befriend you so he can spam you, and keeps on spamming until he finally gets banned. He’s a pain in the @$$ and nobody likes him.

2. Clueless Self-Promoter- At first glance, this social media user is the same as Sir Spam-a-Lot, but he’s a bit different. The clueless self-promoter is, well, clueless. It’s not so much that he’s trying to be a spammer; it’s just that he really doesn’t know any better. He read an article about social media marketing and assumed he could endlessly promote himself on here. He’s also a pain in the behind, but he usually disappears after his efforts produce no results.

3. Mr. Rain on Your Parade- This guy has severe mommy issues. He obviously wasn’t hugged enough as a child. So, he acts out by bringing his elitist attitude to every post he can find. Nothing is good enough for him. Every article he reads sucks, and he’s going to let you know it. He peppers in a few complex words to appear intelligent, but the truth is he’s a college dropout living in a cramped room at his parents house.

4. The Know it All- This guy is annoying enough in real life, but he’s ten times worse online. Whether the topic is movies, music, politics, or sports, it doesn’t matter he knows everything. He’s a cousin to Mr. Rain on Your Parade because he also hates everything. His opinions are usually complete garbage, but he says it with such a condescending tone that you want to cyber slap him into oblivion.

5. Crazy Political Extremist- He’ really active right now because it’s election season, but he’s always around waxing political. Unfortunately, the Political Extremist is slightly off his rocker. He only submits stories about conspiracy theories, and he swears he has the inside track on all the inner workings of the government. He’s hurriedly preparing himself for 2012 when he claims we’ll switch to a 4 President system.

6. The Guy with No Spine- This social media user is nice enough, but he’s really pretty useless. He’s nowhere near a top user, and he’s not completely clueless. He’s just hanging around posting comments that offer no insight into the topic at hand. He seems to think every submit is pretty cool, but that’s about all you’ll get out of him.

7. Casual Observer- This is someone who isn’t looking for any trouble. He’s kind of like the Guy with No Spine, but he doesn’t post as often. Instead, this social media user is content to watch the action from the sidelines. He’s having a good enough time watching all the other users interact, but he has no urge to jump in.

8. Average User- The Average User is a fairly active user who understands how everything works but usually doesn’t put in the time to become an elite user. This social media user won’t spam you, and they’ll lend a helping hand whenever they can.

9. Good Samaritan- For every 10 Mr. Rain on Your Parades, there is at least 1 Good Samaritan. These strangers go out of their way to provide you with useful supplemental resources, and they tell you not to listen to the haters.

10. Sheltered Person – The sheltered person is someone who’s heard about sites like Digg, but they never got around to visiting them. Now that they’re here, they can’t believe the things people are saying. The comments they read are a sharp contrast to the dialogue they hear on Leave it to Beaver. At first, they try to ask everyone why they have to be so offensive. After a few weeks, they realize the battle is too big to fight alone, and they leave the site for good.

11. Wide Eyed Enthusiast- This is a pretty good social media user. They’re just now getting into it, and they want to take the time to learn it properly. They won’t be spamming you, and you don’t have to worry about them hating on your content (although they could turn into a hater after a few years.)They’ll usually submit useful content, and they’re down to help out their friends.

12. Second-Tier User – The Second-Tier User probably started out as Wide Eyed Enthusiast. Now that he’s learned his way around the networks, he’s quickly rising in popularity. He even has connections with the top users on the site, but he’s not quite on their level. A good percentage of his submits go hot, and he’s usually willing to help a friend get his content promoted.

13. The Bragger- This guy is usually a combination of several of the previous users, but where he really separates himself is with his success on his submits. He likes to talk about how often his submits go hot. He’s usually not willing to help out others; instead, he sits back talking mess about how great he is and how much you suck. Eventually, it comes out that he’s gaming the system, and he ends up getting banned.

14. The Elite- This is who The Bragger really wishes he was. Few make it to this level, but when they do, the social media world is in the palm of their hands. If you notice, you always see the same users hitting the front page of a given social media site. They’ve taken the time to figure out how the network works, and they’re successful because of it.

So, which category do you fall into?