Why a reflective plan?

The reflective focus started when I created my digital technology footprint in week two of the MALAT program. Dave White allowed me to see his research as a continuum of “Visitors’ and ‘Residents’ as a replacement for Prensky’s much-criticized Digital Natives and Digital Immigrants  (White, & Le Cornu, 2011). A strong focus how my current footprint is laid out on the visitors and residents typology map. I originally started out until most recently with a heavy presence on the visitors and personal side of the map. After a new career move to a different province and starting my personal business over where I am not known convinced me to cultivate a louder presence on the resident (personal and professional) side of my map. This was and still is an unnerving feeling of discomfort of the known and unknown ways this choice can affect me. I find as I process through the first three weeks of the MALAT program, my footprint is creating a new academic presence on the resident side also. As I reviewed and analyzed scholarly and popular literature on digital presence this past week, it inspired me to open my mind to what is really going on in a digital world.

I have set out to commit myself to support, create and cultivate my digital presence and digital identity throughout the MALAT program. You are invited to witness and actively participate in open discussions I post for the next two years of blogs or where I create a digital presence. I have broken down my plan in the following areas; my goal and purpose, my approach for achieving this goal, identification of skills, my strategies and approaches to address gaps identified, and lastly, measures of success.

As a Human Resources Manager part of my duties is to recruit valuable human capital who have the abilities and insight to understand if hired, they become a part of the brand. What can strangers learn about you online? Could that information help or hurt you in getting into a college, or obtaining a job (Schryver, 2013)? Well, we can learn a lot, part of our recruitment process is to dig deeper to reveal who they are in a digital world. More times than not, this type of social media background check allows us to filter through securing authentic associates who have the abilities and desire to exceed guest expectations. It provides us with vital information, as well as identifies concerns of unfiltered behaviours, comments, and choices that do not fit with our brand. If I process this same exercise and search myself online, today or ten years from now will highlight minimal authentic community involvement. My only worry is identity fraud.

As I look inward I ask myself, am I a digital immigrant? I continue to reflect, owning my weakest link is my digital abilities. I have a passion for knowing how and why things are processed, linked, communicated, designed and executed. I do not want it to watch it unfold around me, and I want to be in the know. So I have created a personal and academic commitment to set new goals, a purpose for cultivating my digital presence and conscious identity.

Overall goal and purpose for cultivating your digital presence and identity;

Today we see, “young adults create a video, music, writing and artistic photography” (Hargittai & Walejko, 2008, p. 239). Over the next two years, my goal is to educate myself to be able to cultivate a digital presence in each of these four areas.

To become a market leader, I need to discover who my audience is and to be able to create a digital footprint representing an active participatory resident in our digital world. No longer will I put the focus on someone else where I take on the task simply liking and sharing their digital thoughts, passions and organizational change of random people. Setting a goal to gain the attention of specific professionals within my digital world.

Approach for achieving this goal;

Create a balanced day for work, wellness, and academic growth. Plan healthy diet that allows me to stay sharp, energized, and healthy. Set a schedule to sleep the same six consistent hours daily. Plan all activities in my daily calendar inclusive to yoga, spin class and swim laps a minimum twice per week. Set the alarm to read two hours before having to leave for work daily. Continue to arrive at work 30 minutes early, work a productive eight hours and organize to leave 15 minutes before the end of the day. Plan five hours after work to research, read, document, and develop my digital presence and goals. Allow time once per week to Skype family, friends and cohort. Plan to travel out of town every nine weeks to reconnect with family, friends and aging parents (In-between courses). By taking one day at a time, this will provide me with the balance to achieving my goals over the next two years.

Plan a number new blog postings per month, organize monthly themed topics, follow inspiring people I am able to cite in my work and elaborate on my purpose and goal.

Become a confident woman that is respected for her creation of content and sharing in a digital world.

Online presence message on stickers post on a wooden wall

Strategies and approaches to address the identified gaps;

Personal reflection will provide me with the ability to identify gaps that are hindering me from achieving my goals. I have been practicing this since teachers college, something that has always worked for me. Ask questions, be open for critical discovery, be available for cohorts, provide my strengths to assists someone’s weakness. I am currently a consumer of material, which will transform into a contributor to online content in our digital world. Believe, learn, and grow.

Measure(s) of success

My measure of success is motivated by my why? By writing out five reasons why I will never fail. To understand there will be so many ways my life will improve after I succeed and achieve my goals.  The new skill I have set out to learn. The new opportunities this will create and what new doors will open to opportunity. To reflect how my new skills can help other people near and dear to me. And to identify what I will miss out on if I do decide to quit, the ramifications too negative choices.

Review plan at the end of each course, I identify the ability to stay on track, make adjustments where see fit, having an end goal in mind. Calculate actual time spent on goal, reflect if it is a reasonable goal and question if it will allow me to meet a two-year objective.

Overcome participation gap, “may be overcome by a ‘new media literacy’ highlighting the importance of focusing on enhancing peoples creative pursuits and abilities beyond providing technological access” (Hargittai & Walejko, 2008, p. 241). By actively participating on each of my cohorts blogs, adding value and creating a meaningful opinion backed by reliable research.

References

Hargittai, E., & Walejko, G. (2008). The participation divide: Content creation and sharing in the digital age. In Information Communication and Society, 239-256.

Schryver, K. (n.d.). Who are you online? Considering issues of web identity – The New York Times. Retrieved April 28, 2018, from https://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/02/05/guest-post-who-are-you-online-considering-issues-of-web-identity/?_r=0

White, D., & Le Cornu, A. (2009). Visitors and residents: A new typology for online engagement. First Monday, 16(9) pp. 1–10.