Digital Street Smarts - 6 Suggestions for Managing Your Digital Self



Half Human Half Digital - Art by Nick Gentry

 I am a self-declared old school type of guy. Yet, the inevitable has now become my reality.  Welcome to the digital age! Like most Americans, my work communications rely more heavily on email than actual voicemail. As a matter of fact, if I really want to get an answer in a timely manner, I have to text instead of email or voicemail. This post is not a complaint or a nostalgic call for the return of the good ole days, but rather a statement of observed behavioral norms that must be recognized in order to navigate and manage our "digital-self" both socially and economically. 
 If this is you too, and the digital realm holds a good chunk of your daily attention, then learning to manage the moment of the very real digital emotional intelligence demand required by this new era is a must!  Otherwise, you may step on a digital landmine and end up stuck in a social conflict being hashed out and forwarded throughout the web.  Here are a few simple codes of conduct that can help us all develop through our digital puberty.

1. The digital realm lacks the body language interpreter that we rely on in the real world. The "I was just joking" statement doesn't get the mileage you would like it too when it comes to digital communication.

2. The digital world is 24/7. You have to set-up mental boundaries, otherwise it will wear you out! See Digital Overtime

3. Yes, the pen is mightier than the sword, but you had better know how to use it! You wouldn't take a wild wielding samurai seriously, so why would a wayward pen (or in this case a keypad) wielding writer be taken seriously. Choose your words wisely. The written word carries much more weight than the spoken word, so if you are going to call someone out, you had better be prepared to back it up.

4. Respect people. Like the real world, there are consequences for manipulative or abusive communication. Most of our regrets in life come from not managing the moment properly. Better than the real world, the digital world affords you the extra time to proof your statements or responses with wisdom. Think twice before you send that lawyer like email calling someone on the carpet, or post gossip on a wall. Just like on the streets, there is always someone out there that is bigger than you.

5. Even in the digital world, passive aggressive behavior is still unacceptable. By not replying you are replying. Voicemail systems and text messaging providers make their money by ensuring dependability. The excuse  of, "Oh I didn't get that one" doesn't have the same legs as it used to when post-it phone messages and answering machines were the mainstream. You are speaking volumes when you don't reply at all, and that's OK if that is the message you want to send.  Thankfully, they are actually creating software to help us with our digital courtesy for those times when we just can't tend to the request in a timely manner (see Battling Inbox Overflow with 'Courteous.ly').

6. Lastly, just like in the school yard, if you get into a digital fight you will attract an audience. Just ask Steve Jobs about his irrational response to a journalism student.

Moreover, the "WWW" prefix in the URL stands for the "WORLD WIDE WEB." The world is watching and its a can easily become a tangled web we weave. The digital you is a reality, so embrace the growth and manage the moment.

Win Today!

Victor