Valor and its Parts
Discretion being the Better part of Valor, sounds a bit… “Old Timey” but does it old any value in todays society? Think before you post is the new idiom harping on the same sentiment. In today’s share happy culture i think you would be foolish not to pay attention to old wisdom. Immediacy and permanence are two very unkind attributes of today’s internet culture and communication. As with most emerging mediums there are growing pains. Unlike past paradigm shifts in media these growing pains affect the one much easier than the many. Previously the chances of you having an unkind story written about you in the newspaper, were… low. Now not only are the chances higher, but you may end up penning your own libel.
Past generations might not have had facebook, twitter or anything nearly as instantaneous, which is probably a good thing. Could you imagine the Facebook photos from college during the 60′s? Status Update! Electric KoolAir Acid Test at noon! Youthful indiscretions where pushed aside, as long as they didn’t leaves scars or produce children. Kids it has been said,were allowed to be kids. And even scars are a good reminder of a past mistake.
But what of digital scars? These scars don’t just make your chin look a little less perfect after you play with a whip, Indy. No they show up on your resume, in the glaring and unkind fluorescent light, bereft of captions, no digital provenience given. Photos telling their whole story, as they see fit, a status update, a rouge like on a unflattering topic. Given 6 lines written by the most honest men, it was said Cardinal Richelieu could hang even the most honest someone, How about 6 lines written after a night at a bar? Or a single dimly lit cell phone picture?
Past generations can view their communication, their yearbooks and their lives through tinted a tinted lens when the needed. I didn’t Inhale works a lot better when pictures of a massive Bong Hit don’t accompany it from a frat party, Mr Phelps. This awareness shift isn’t just directed at kids, think of the fishing photo posted on facebook during a sick day.
Today’s digital citizens need to be on their guard against themselves. And the funny thing is that authors, bloggers and everyone else might end up acting a little slower than the speed of communication once they realize how far the ripples can travel.
More often than not, posts on my personal blog, and this site end up languishing in the draft folder for a couple days. I try to let the sentiment simmer for a while, let the topic go a slight bit cold, revisit and confirm that whatever you are sharing needs to be a representation of you going forward.
Discretion might be the better part of valor, but the twin virtues of knowing when yto keep your digital yap shut and not putting yourself in the position in the first place are a good start.
One last bit, knowing and setting your privacy settings is a great stopgap measure, but information wants to be free, and funny looking information more so. It used to just be confined to the bedroom when someone said that you aren’t just trusting the person you are with but everyone they trusted, now that goes to your digital life too. There is no quicker way to get screwed than post a funny compromising picture to a couple “friends” only to end up on Digg, Reddit, and every FailBlog from here to .TK