Sharing Nicely

"Share," we were told when were were children.  "Share nicely."

"I think I'll share," we repeated until it became second nature.   To friends we extended our baseballs, our Barbies, our Wii remotes.  

After we put our toys away, sharing nicely in the "real" world posed some challenges.  In the office: Politics, in-fighting, back-biting, cards held close, stories "spun."  As consumers, it's buyer beware: Honest Johns, false claims, and a shortage of reliable information.

But a new age is upon is.  You could call it Sharing 2.0, enabled by new technologies and behaviors.  Forums, blogs, wikis, microblogs -- these are just a few of the tools (with accompanying behaviors) that are fostering a new transparency.  Quality and truth are rewarded.  So are collaboration and cooperation.  Con artists are exposed and ridiculed.

Is this working perfectly?  No.  There are big challenges: Security, privacy, separating wheat from chaff, and more.   But I believe these can be addressed without taking away what's good about the new transparency.

It's a wonderful time to be open, honest, and transparent.  To tell stories that ring true.  To compete on merit.  To be genuinely the best.