Of course you text

Of course you text. Who doesn’t? Consider these statistics: more than 70 percent of wireless users (that adds up to about 200 million Americans) have an SMS (or "short message service") package for their mobile device that allows them to text and about 2.5 billion – yes, billion – messages are sent daily in the U.S.

Clearly, sending information by typing a message on your cell phone and zipping it virtually instantaneously to friends and family has become almost second nature to a lot of us. Contacting colleagues and business contacts via texting has become commonplace, too.

Although texting is a fast, informal way to exchange information related to your work, it can also be unprofessional, inappropriate, and downright rude in certain situations.

Business etiquette and communications expert Barbara Pachter, author of Greet! Eat! Tweet! 52 Business Etiquette Postings to Avoid Pitfalls and Boost Your Career (CreateSpace), points out that while texting is here to stay, there are definite dos and don’ts when it comes to texting and your job.

Texting under the table during a presentation or in a meeting? Don’t do it! "If you are sitting upfront, texting is noticeable and distracting to the speaker," Pachter tells Synergy. "In a huge meeting or if you are sitting on the back row in an assembly, you may think texting is unobtrusive. However you’re still telling the people around you that you are not paying attention."

Pachter, who shares her business etiquette knowledge through seminars, keynote speaking, executive