Who The Digital Are You?! New Rules for Life in a Digital Age
I am speaking at Fresh Thinking with Tomi Ahonen. Tomi did a blog yesterday Fresh Thinking guest blog - and this is mine....
“Mobile is to the digital age what the wheel was to the stone age. By its very nature, Mobile puts an interface with the digital world into the hands and pockets of the masses globally. Mobile is THE widest-reaching technology in the world today. And as such has enabled a plethora of situations, context and opportunities for digital engagement and interactions. But do we truly understand what we’re getting ourselves into?
Today’s reality is that you leave tiny digital traces of where you have been, when and how often, using what device, and who with, each and every time you interact with technology.So what are you doing to manage your footprints in this digital age?
We are all digital citizens of the world which means we all have rights and responsibilities. There is a great emphasis on the protective rights we want – such as new and updated law and regulations that define privacy, security and protection. However, it is how we each define and act on our responsibilities that will shape our personal engagement with digital services and technologies.
Let’s think about current digital services, such as social media, as a game. For example, if Twitter is about getting the best quip of the day or providing some useful info, and Linkedin is about proving “my network is bigger than yours”, then Facebook is about showing that “I have a more interesting life than you”. With every new game, there are new rules and responsibilities, but do we know what these are?
Before looking into any new rules it is worth confirming that all of the old social rules are still valid, relevant and have not been washed away by mobile. A few examples of old rules that are timeless include:
§ Don’t gossip, make things up, slander, steal, pinch or lie
§ Have evidence and be professional, factual, accurate, honest, and transparent
§ Engage and treat others how you want to be treated yourself
§ Opinions are personal. Be gracious, open, respectful and accepting of differences
Without a doubt, some modernising of law is needed to reflect the advances in democracy, understanding and technology. Examples of rules and regulation that would appreciate some new impetus include: Privacy, Identity, Liberty, Harm, Consequences, Ownership, Access and Rights.
New rules for the digital age
While waiting for the law to catch up I’ve been gathering my own set of rules of engagement for today’s digital age. Here’s my top 10, an eclectic list of guidelines around managing and protecting your digital footprint and personal data:
1. Digital Footprints are what you say about yourself, what others say about you and what data says about you
2. Appreciate that your digital footprint is worth more than your salary
3. Everything you do can be recorded (stored). Sensors will be in all digital devices soon – ask yourself why and what use will the data be and to whom
4. Reputation is all you have and your name is a good identity – so don’t abuse or lose either
5. Change your password to Facebook, Twitter and bank accounts etc before you change your boy/girl friend/ partner
6. Have several personas. This is not a sign of madness and you don’t need to justify them to anyone
7. Branding is now personal and it is the new black
8. Don’t sack/release/ make redundant the person, and then be held hostage, by the person who has the login/password for your corporate fan page, group, twitter account until many people have control/access
9. Provide someone (you trust) with the knowledge of how to access your accounts/ data after you die and what you want done with your data/ digital footprint. Be aware – doing so will go against every term and condition you have signed
10. Levels of damage and harm from digital engagement are currently lower that you may think”
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