A flurry of articles have appeared recently regarding "tech etiquette," also described as "email etiquette," "computer etiquette," and a bunch of related names. Author Virginia Shea even took the concept a step further and created a new word "Netquette," and offers 10 Core Rules of Netquette."
Many of the articles offering tips are even more specific, such as "Blackberry etiquette," which typically address texting with cellphones as well.
What caught my attention over the holidays was an article called "25 Rules of Tech Etiquette" from Jon Chase at Switched.com. Take for example, rule #6
"Why should I bother using CC for group e-mails when I can just put everyone in the To: ?
E-mail was partly devised to mimic the old paper trails of office protocols of yesteryear. So, if you want to communicate directly with just one person, send that person an e-mail and CC (carbon copy) anyone else that you think should be notified, but that you don't necessarily expect to reply. If you're starting a conversation among all those people, then you'd put them all in the address bar. If you're sending a party invite to a small group of people, then you might CC your list. But heaven help you if it's more than a half-dozen e-mails. The height of e-mail stupidity is to CC a string of 50 e-mail addresses. That's what BCC (blind carbon copy) is for."
The overall list is pretty interesting, as are all of these various technology etiquette lists. From cell phone use in restaurants to texting in work meetings, they describe when it's ok to be upset with friends, family and co-workers and when it's not. These lists provide some helpful guidance, but be careful - some of the lists also contradict each other.
We know our society has a problem when comedians get involved. Check out this YouTube video (at home on your own time of course) from Greg Schwem on tech etiquette to grasp the issues pretty quickly - with a smile.
So what's my point? Besides the many articles on our new President's Blackberry usage and bringing this hot topic to your attention, there are real questions, issues and lessons here for policy makers and technology staff. Some governments and companies around the world have even formally banned blackberries from meetings. Is that the right approach, or do we change the culture at work best through tech etiquette training or do we just leave this topic alone and let the masses figure it out?
My view: we probably need fewer polices in these areas, but better training for staff on expectations for the use of technology. Several organizations, like Motorola, have even condensed their policies down to far fewer pages so that end users can better understand the do's and don'ts on the net at work. In Michigan, we are re-writing many of our acceptable use policies now to include Web 2.0 and social networking topics. However, it remains to be seen if the policies actually get shorter.
Nevertheless, I seriously doubt that we'll get to level that Jon Chase does in his 25 rules - nor should we, in my opinion. The central question that governments around the globe need to answer is this: Is a policy required or is this tech ettiquette? We can't have a policy for every situation; we need to rely on common sense, right?
What are your thoughts?
One side note: Starting tomorrow, I will become Michigan's Acting Chief Technology Officer and Director, Infrastructure Services Administration within the Michigan Department of Information Technology (MDIT). Trent Carpenter, will become our Acting Michigan CISO. As mentioned in Government Technology Magazine, I will stop blogging on security and start blogging on infrastructure, integration, and innovation if/when the position becomes permanent. I also plan to write a future blog on the transition of roles in government. Stay tuned and thanks for reading.
