Holly Finn is  a columnist for the Wall Street Journal.  She wrote a recent impactful article, “Making Nice in the Online World:  In the New Peer-to-Peer Economy, Being Courteous is a Must” (August 13-14, 2011, p. C12).

I pulled this line out for you to think about:  “In this world, you trade wares personally, everyone knows your business and gossip is gold.” 

This line is true because younger professionals today spend more time socializing digitally than face-to-face.  She calls this “clicking not cliquing.”   There are many options available online to everyone  for a vast variety of products and services.  Each day, the Internet features a start-up company that tries to nudge its way into the marketplace.

She states:  “The trick is that you  have to make the bed, say please and thank you and be true to your word.  All these start-ups rely on a rating system.  Buyers and sellers are the same people in this community, and as it grows, you stay only if you behave well.  It’s Emily Post etiquette, digitized.  And it’s effective:  Millenials may not listen to anyone over 35, but they’re rapt with each other.”

The implication of this article is that it is not price, features, or benefits that makes as much of a difference as how you are treated.  “It’s smart to act nicely if you might meet again, particularly if your actions are unceasingly recorded”

Do you agree with this?  Does this fit into your online experiences?

Let’s talk about it really soon?