For generations in small towns in the United States one was only as good as their word. Integrity meant everything and even banks loaned money based on your name in the community and if you were not a man of your word, well you simply did not get the loan. Today we see larger cities and we watch as an individual business owner can hide out in broad daylight amongst the masses. Now, enter the Internet Age where everyone is virtual, a keyboard and email address, perhaps a website too.

Where as your word maybe important, more important is the traffic generated into their realm, which they will use and then say anything to turn that into a sale. Often these online entrepreneurs will run their mouths more than their duties. They will fall down and fall behind in their promises and obligations to ship a product out, handle a complaint or honor a request for which they had given their word. Unfortunately there is often little if any mechanism for such individuals to stay on track; either they have the personal integrity and conviction or they do not.

We should all beware of the Excuse Maker in our online dealings, as often they fall victim themselves to their self-purported problems and excuses. Although this is perhaps human nature and an innate characteristic and problem of all members of the species, this is no-excuse on your part to fall for their dribble. So beware the excuse maker in your online dealings, the one who can never get the job done, always touting their abilities and successes without fixing the debris they leave along the way. Think on this in 2006.