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Dear readers: I'd like you to consider starting the New Year with a commitment to the good manners of technology.

With technology changing so quickly and people embracing it at so many different levels, how do we know what are the good manners of technology? We know by remembering that manners are about thinking of others before ourselves and treating people with respect and courtesy in all our actions - even those dominated by technology.

That means giving your full attention to the people you meet face to face, whether it's your boss running the staff meeting or the grocery store clerk. It also means considering how your technology use affects those around you. At the airport, in a store, on the other end of that e-mail message, pay attention to the effect your technology use is having or will have on other people.

My top five techno-etiquette standards for 2007 are:

5. The iPod should never isolate you. Its constant use will create a permanent barrier to starting and building important relationships. Be sure to take off both ear buds when someone needs your attention.

4. The disclaimer at the end of your PDA e-mail - "Sent from my wireless handheld device" - is not a license to use poor grammar and spelling. You send a message about yourself with every message you send. Do all that you can to send intelligence and clarity, even when faced with the limitations of a handheld.

3. The person you're with always takes precedence over a cell phone conversation. Unless it's an emergency, the gracious cell user defers calls to voicemail and addresses the matter and the person at hand. That includes your dinner companion as well as the coffee shop cashier.

2. Carefully review every e-mail you send. Verify your recipients, check the spelling, and read it with an eye for its clarity and tone.

More than 90 percent of face-to-face communication comes in the form of body language, facial expression, and voice pitch and tone. Less than 10 percent comes from the words spoken. Without the benefits of facial expressions and voice tone, subtleties can be lost and sarcasm misunderstood. For successful and efficient electronic communication, messages should be clear and concise with obvious meaning.

1. Your cell phone conversation should absolutely never make others uncomfortable or be a distraction to them. Keep conversations conducted in public short and quiet. Cell users must realize that if not kept in check, their conversations cause true frustration for others, and that's just not nice.

In the embrace of new technology, good manners never go out of style.