We all interact online and with technological devices with rapid and increasing intensity, attracted by convenient and helpful technological tools. Many of us have social media accounts with a variety of companies for our online selves (personal, social, and professional). The open and connected nature of the internet allows us to easily exchange information, yet it also poses challenges with access and control. Employees represent not only their personal and social selves online, but also their professional selves and work for employers who also have these layers of interaction. Protecting our ‘online selves’ requires a great deal of time and attention to managing settings and understanding policies.
Most of us lack the necessary amount of time and attention. In many of these online exchanges data are not willingly shared, but unknowingly surrendered. In an open and connected world where information is readily stored, collected, and disseminated, where do the boundaries exist to protect the key parties involved in these information exchanges? Who sets these boundaries and determines the rules associated with them?
The public sector faces unique challenges with trying to react quickly to constituents yet comply with existing rules and guidelines about reactions and responses. Kristen Walker, a professor of Marketing at California State University Northridge (CSUN) will discuss how data are socially transmitted through every day interactions and explain how this transmission requires new and flexible (macro) interaction protocols to withstand technological innovation in data-driven environments for data-driven decisions. Moderating interactions requires more than trust and transparency and must include education and verification strategies.