In an online environment our integrity can be compromised if we do not think carefully about what we make public. In Joe McCarthy’s blogpost on The Dark Side of Digital Backchannels in Shared Physical Spaces there are examples of backchannel behaviour that has had dramatic effects on people’s lives.

Our actions are amplified because so many people have access to our thoughts and behaviours. This amplification can help our message reach a wider group of followers. It can also amplify decisions that, in retrospect, we wish we had not made. Online integrity is connected to our moral beliefs yet the day to day living of these beliefs can easily be eroded by quick, irreversible online decisions. The establishment of online behaviours, etiquette and cultural norms can be developed by:

• parents understanding and modelling sound online behaviours so that their children can follow by example;
• schools recognising that social networking is here to stay and that we will get feedback from students through backchannels whether we like it or not. You can bury your head in the sand and ban social media or use it as a way to deepen online integrity and build student awareness and skills;
• constantly checking your own personal behaviours to see if your offline and online behaviours are congruent – and ethically sound; and
• not responding unethically in response to inappropriate online behaviour.

Let’s face it. None of us are perfect. Yet if we have well defined values and beliefs we may be less likely to cause offense or put ourselves in situations where we wish we could turn back time, erase 140 characters, remove a photo before a job interview or get back our privacy.

Some useful sites to visit:

• Safety Tips
• Cartoon on Good Samaritanism

But I’ve been procrastinating, and today I worked out what it was that was holding me back. It is all to do with the inability of New Zealand telecommunications providers to tailor a usage plan to meet my needs. I can buy an iphone at a cheaper price if I want to sign up for a two year contract. Trouble is this gives me a certain number of calls, texts and limited download capacity. Options are complex to interpret and advice slow. This model of customer service is so outmoded that I can’t even contemplate it. We live in flexible times. Times where we can tailor our own learning and where technologies change rapidly. So if providers can’t be responsive to my needs they have really missed the boat. Of course they can tailor the programme if I am a large corporate. But I’m not. I think there are lots of people like me who aren’t having their needs met. Collectively we are powerful. If we withdraw our support they will soon feel it.

The latest trendwatching briefing lists transparency of prices, opinions and standards as one of the most important current consumer trends. As they say, “reviewing is the new advertising.” So yes, I have been reading reviews, twittering for advice and researching the options.

What am I going to do? Within the next few weeks I will bite the bullet and buy an iphone. I’m not going to sign up to any plan that is not customised for me. I’m going for an option that I can change whenever I want and that is based on my needs. I haven’t quite finished my research – but I know what I don’t want. Nomads don’t want to be tied down.