Prior to enrolling in the MALAT program, I had never given much thought to who I was online or what kind of digital presence I had. Up until this moment, I had made a choice to live in my visitor bubble trying to leave no digital footprint. In the journal Visitors and Residents: A new typology for online engagement there was one statement that truly felt like it described how I interact with the web and it states: “Clearly, some people may operate entirely as Visitors, visiting specific Web places for specific purposes, entirely on their own and never leaving a footprint behind”(White & Alison Le Cornu, 2011).
As a millennial, I grew up with AOL, ICQ (remember that?), MSN, Myspace, and eventually, Facebook when I started high school. I was able to talk with my friends after school, login in and out of MSN to attract my crush’s attention, and exchange images on Facebook using these platforms. Sounds pretty harmless right? Sure, until you start to see the unpleasant aspects of social media, such as children being cruel to one another or having images shared without consent. I think that it was from seeing this firsthand that I never really wanted to be googleable or to put any effort into my digital identity.
But, in the spirit of pushing myself out of my comfort zone, my goal is to see whether I can adjust to being more of a resident in the digital space. When creating my DIDP, I didn’t think it was necessary for me to write a long list of goals in order to give the impression that I wanted a large digital presence when, in reality, I’m not sure this is something that I want. It will be interesting to see how my views evolve in the next two years. So without further ado… here is my short (but authentic) DIDP.
References:
White, D. S., & Alison Le Cornu. (2011). Visitors and Residents: A new typology for online engagement. First Monday, 16(9). https://firstmonday.org/article/view/3171/3049
Hi Jess,
I think I’m like you, and that one of the reasons why I haven’t posted as much as I’d like to, is that I don’t think I have good content to share with people or that I would try too hard to perfect the content to the point I never finish it (because it’s never good enough).
A couple of questions I have for you:
What are some of the topics you would like to share and to what audience do you think would be the most interested in your topics? What do you think is the best way to collect a group of followers from that audience?
Hey Patrick,
Thanks for taking the time to read my blog post. You know, it’s funny I came into this program with the intention to better my skills for my current job (which is franchising) so to use this MA as a means to get promoted and all that fun stuff. After participating in the symposium and viewing some of the research projects – I saw myself gravitate towards topics that were related to mental health/mindfulness. I have a degree in Child and Youth Work and a BA in Psychology and eons ago that was sort of my lifelong dream to work within that field.
To answer your question, the areas that I am most interested in are education and services for adolescents battling with eating disorders, as well as addressing the gaps in our current healthcare system that do not provide adequate tools to help individuals understand the mind-body system.
The conundrum I’ve created for myself right now is that it’s been a long time since I’ve been totally immersed in the field of social services/psychology, so my comfort level is not quite as high as it once was. However, I believe that in order for me to build an audience, I will need to spend time researching and networking with others in the business.
It’s scary to think that I am sort of starting all over and there is a chance of me changing my whole entire career- but it’s also very exciting and feels fulfilling already
Jess! Great post; I immensely enjoyed reading it and noticed that we have a lot of similarities. Looking forward to watching you grow throughout this program.
This is a really thoughtful post, Jess.
I’m really excited to read that your background in Child & Youth Work and Psychology is informing how you are approaching the MALAT program and where it might lead you to places you did not anticipate. It’s all so fascinating, and I look forward to further conversations!
Did you study developmental or cognitive psychology as part of your Psych degree? I’ve been fascinated with the psychology of perception as a designer, and that has recently morphed into an interest in understanding how those same processes may play a role in learning as well.
During the Symposium week, Earl Einarson said, “I am a visitor, I walk gently on the land.” When examined through the lens of the visitor/resident typology, that takes on an interesting meaning… “walking gently on the land” could mean being mindful and present in how we traverse the digital landscape, and leaving no trace. That is not necessarily a bad thing. We should all be afforded the ability to choose the digital traces we leave behind (or if we leave any behind at all).
Hi Jess,
Just a shout out to say how amazing your site looks, and the block that lets you scroll through your strategies and approaches, so cool, great job! Anyway enjoyed the read and site experience. Thanks for sharing.