Reading about White’s continuum of “Visitors” and “Residents” (White, 2011), in addition to mapping my online engagement, made me further reflect about my current practices of digital presence and online social interactions with others. It was evident that as Visitor, I have been intentionally withholding myself from overly exposing my thoughts and limiting my digital social interactions. With common reasons being privacy (White, 2011) and fear (Schryver, n.d.) of others forming impressions as a result of posting content related to personal or professional activities. This is particularly true with Facebook. Walther (2009) referred to a recent research which found that we tend to view information that we hear about someone second-hand as more reliable because we expect people to present themselves in an overly positive manner. In addition, Shryer’s Facebook sharing practices didn’t seem authentic either:
“In general, I tend to use Facebook in a few circumscribed ways: to promote myself (“check out my latest blog post!”), and to inform or entertain, preferably in a self- aggrandizing way that establishes myself as an Intelligent/Witty/Irreverent Person. And so amusing Web videos get posted, as do perceptive articles and infographics, not to mention pop-culture ephemera that solidifies my reputation as a playful (but with an edge!) raconteur” (Schryver, n.d.)
So, the question is: How do I cultivate a digital presence that is authentic, meaningful and enhances my personal brand? After all, everything we post online is traceable and can be used against us (Schryver, n.d.).
Goal and purpose
Per Madden and Smith (2010), online reputation management is an essential component of digital identity and online participation because what someone says about himself or herself, and what others say, shows up in his or her online digital footprint. Although my LinkedIn digital presence is pretty solid thanks to the guidance I received from my former career coach, my goal would be to increase my digital footprint using LinkedIn and possibly other online platforms, while being intentional with what I post and share. As well, although it may not sound too polite, I would clean up my LinkedIn contact list to only include contacts that I have personally met or have had interactions with, rather than accepting random invitations.
Process
As a first step, I would increase my digital literacy through the knowledge I would acquire in the MALAT program. Reviewing and analyzing this week’s readings helped me understand and appreciate the importance of having and cultivating a digital identity, being aware of what digital participation means as well as reading about my cohort’s thoughts on the topic.
Second, by establishing and nurturing my own MALAT blog I would contribute to the knowledge, stories and experiences I have had during my studies with my peers and faculty. After the end of my studies, I will assess whether or not I would want to make my blog public and therefore own a public digital space.
Measures of success, bridging knowledge gaps
In order to quantify results and measure success, I would consider evaluating my knowledge as per Kirkpatrick’s second level of learning evaluation (pre and post learning evaluation), meaning that I would have developed a deeper understanding, increased comfort level with digital contributions, new perspectives and increased expertise (Luehmann, 2008).
References
Peters, T. (1997). The Brand Called You. Fast Company. Retrieved from http://www.fastcompany.com/28905/brand-called-you.
Luehmann, A. L. (2008). Using blogging in support of teacher professional identity development: A case study. The Journal of the Learning Sciences, 17, 287-337.
Walther, J. B., Van Der Heide, B., Hamel, L. M., et al. (2009). Self-generated versus other-generated statements and impressions in computer-mediated communication: A test of the warranting theory using Facebook. Communication Research, 36, 229-252.
Schryver, K. (n.d.). Who Are You Online? Considering Issues of Web Identity – The New York Times. Retrieved from https://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/02/05/guest-post-who-are-you-online-considering-issues-of-web-identity/?_r=0
White, D. S., & Le Cornu, A. (2009). Visitors and Residents : A new typology for online engagement | White | First Monday. Barcelona, pp. 1–10. https://doi.org/10.5210/fm.v16i9.3171
Madden, M., & Smith, A. (2010). Reputation management and social media: How people monitor their identity and search for others online. Washington, DC: Pew Internet & American Life Project. Retrieved from http://www.pewinternet.org/2010/05/26/ reputation-management-and-social-media/
May 3, 2018 at 9:30 am
Hi Dino
I appreciated your focus on authenticity as a goal. I have had many discussions about being authentic on social media. I think this is even more so when we are talking about our digital identity in a professional venue. The more we use social media and other online forums I think it is important to curate who we interact with. “Cleaning up” your linked in profile sounds like a great idea and something I may want to consider as well.
May 3, 2018 at 3:18 pm
Thank you for your comment, Chad. You’re absolutely correct to say that being authentic on social media, especially in a professional setting such as LinkedIn, is important. If you interact with people that you know, then you have common interests and you can be more personable, yet professional with your postings. Another complication with LinkedIn is how you relate (or don’t relate) your personal digital identity with that of your employer’s without risking in infringing any social media communication code of conduct. Most large organizations, especially those that are public companies, have specific social media participation guidelines and you have to think twice what you say. Per Dishman, “some corporate social media policies are balanced but some are draconian”. I particularly liked item #7 under FORD’s policy, “Whatever happens in Vegas…stays on Google”.
In the past, I used not to list the name of my employer on my LinkedIn profile so I can express my views and opinions freely, without being associated with my organization and my posting be misinterpreted as my company’s position. Nowadays, before I post anything I make sure that the information I post is the most professional reflection of my opinion and belief because identifying myself as an employee of my company I’m mindful that the content I post is visible to co-workers, customers and senior executives.
Reference
Dishman, L. (2010), Corporate Social Media Policies: The Good, the Mediocre, and the Ugly. Retrieved from https://www.fastcompany.com/1668368/corporate-social-media-policies-good-mediocre-and-ugly
May 3, 2018 at 12:15 pm
Hi Dino, I could really relate to your comments about authenticity of online participants. I have had that very observation myself and it motivated me to not participate in Facebook anymore. I am too working on reviving my LinkedIn account and I liked your mention about being discerning of who you will have in the account as your contacts. I may take that thought with me as I work in LinkedIn. At the end you introduce the Kirkpatrick model as a tool to measure your success. I am unfamiliar with this model and am wondering if you have used it before and what context.
May 3, 2018 at 3:59 pm
Hi Anita, thank you for your thoughts.
I agree with what you mentioned regarding Facebook. I deleted my profile a long time ago not only just because of what I observed but because at the time Facebook did a poor job maintaining the privacy of personal information, such as emails. Soon after I registered, I started receiving a ton of spam emails. It’s great to hear that you’re considering riving your LinkedIn account. I have located these best practices in case you would like to consider them when sharing your content.
I’m more than happy to elaborate on the Kirkpatrick model and my apologies for taking it for granted that everyone would be familiar with it. The model is comprised of 4 levels of learning evaluation and recently expanded to include additional elements that provided emphasis on measuring the transfer of learning to the workplace. Instructional Designers using an Instructional Systems Design (ISD) Model, such as the Analyze, Design, Develop, Implement, Evaluate – ADDIE, strive to evaluate the effectiveness of a learning intervention using the Kirkpatrick model to prove to stakeholders that training was effective and produced the expected results. As you’ll notice, Level 2 evaluation provides insight as to “what degree participants acquired the intended knowledge, skills, and attitudes based on their participation in the learning event” (Kirkpatrick). I have mostly utilized Kirkpatrick’s model in all courses I have designed but not necessarily measured all 4 levels. The more strategic and more expensive a learning intervention is to assess, design and develop, the higher the requirement becomes to measure its effectiveness at a higher Kirkpatrick level – senior leadership would want to see what was the Return on their Investment or Expectations (ROI/E). Other evaluation models exist though, so I hope you find this link useful.
References
Kirkpatrick, J., Kirkpatrick, W. (2015).Updating the Four Levels for the New World. Retrieved from https://www.td.org/insights/updating-the-four-levels-for-the-new-world
Downes, A. (2016). 4 Learning Evaluation Models You Can Use. Retrieved from https://elearningindustry.com/4-learning-evaluation-models-can-use