Is it reasonable to expect that most of us will intuitively understand and be able to master the new social mores of a new environment?
Let’s say you were visiting a foreign culture? Would you be confident you would just get it? Or would you first seek some advice from someone experienced in the norms, behaviour, and etiquette?
I know I would want the lowdown, if only to not unwittingly offend let alone come across like an idiot.
The online environment that we are engaging most days is one that our wider culture has been involved in for less than a decade on mass. We wouldn’t assume that a person would simply just get a new foreign culture of a distant country just by visiting it (we all know the ignorant tourist), so why is that we have left so much of what we do online down to common sense.
From what I see, with the potential for wide amplification of anything we share, good sense and understanding seems to be at premium.
Before we start bringing our next project to life, let’s do a double take and make sure we understand the implications of what will happen with it online.
First thing two things to ask:
- Have I got my facts straight?
- Are there people who really need to know what’s going on before everyone else does?
