blogger profile

Dusty Gilbert

Lifestyles Editor for BizRadio Network & Editor for skirt! Houston

Dusty Gilbert is an International Studies Graduate from the University of St. Thomas. With professional experience in print publications, the non-profit sector, website development, and the real estate industry, she is currently a writer, a local columnist, Editor of skirt! Houston Online and the...

READ MORE

Be Nice Online

Dusty Gilbert

I am old school, although totally hooked on technology. My thoughts are best collected using a pen and paper, nothing else. Like an unadulterated conversation with myself, there are neither red swiggley lines to remind me of my dependence on spellcheck nor uninvited magical boxes announcing the arrival of new email. And, forget about my overwhelming desire to reorganize words or even translate my brain dump into something understood by others… in one draft anyway. For me, paper is freedom.

When I feel like EVERYONE else is from Mars or Venus and I am from a totally different galaxy, my pen and trusty filler paper deliver me back to the Milky Way no matter what the subject I am writing on. To be clear, I don’t worship paper as an omnipresent superpower; it just the virtue of being simple, old school.

Blackberry, instant message, video conference, cell phone…. For me anyway, communication becomes overwhelming… too much freezes my internal hard drive. All creativity and functionality cease when subject to an overload of information from too many sources (all with their own priorities and deadlines). Don’t get me wrong this is not usually an act of malice, but just a reaction to urgency or responsibility… I understand the crime, as I am also guilty.

Technology will continue to increase in scope and lower in price, so although it is a blessing, we must learn to respect the connectivity of others… Consolidate information into as few emails, phone calls and chats as possible, limit urgent situations, focus on key points, involve only those who need to be included and use things like font size or color to grab attention.

Time is all we have and when it is gone, there is nothing left. Virtual etiquette is as important as personal etiquette, so just like you should knock before entering someone’s office or home… you should always inquire whether or not it’s a good time when engaging someone’s attention no matter what method of communication is used.

Be nice online, Manic Monday shouldn’t be a 24/7 deal... :)