Being an online teacher, I would have thought that I
had a better grasp on my digital footprint (since I am online every day.) Looking into this topic however, I have found
that managing my digital footprint is more than just making my Facebook page
private. These are the ten steps that I
am taking to make sure that I don’t get “Facebook fired.”
1. Google
yourself
There are so many
pages out there that have your name attached to them for better or for worse. “Sign
OUT of Google and run a search for your name. Go three to five pages deep. Grab
the URL of every result listed and classify each as positive, negative, or
neutral.”(McGinnis)
2. Facebook
is Not Private
“You have many conversations on
Facebook that you think that only your Friends can see. But your Facebook
conversations are more public than you might realize, because it's quite
natural to lose track of all the Friends you have allowed to have access to
your conversations. Also, remember that anyone can copy and paste anything you
say into an email that they send to others - or publish on Facebook.”( Digital Citizenship Adventures)
3. Leverage
Social Networks
“Like it or not,
social media is a great way to increase your search engine ranking and share
your work with others. Whether Facebook, Twitter, and/or LinkedIn, consider how
you can leverage these sites to share your work with others.” (Lowenthal)
4. Complete
all profiles
“When appropriate,
complete the profile and include such things as keywords to your research,
specifics on your research, and — at minimum — a link to your professional
website” (Lowenthal)
5. Get a Twitter Account and Make it Legitimate.
“Be active! Tweet daily news articles
that you find interesting. Reply to people who share interesting things. Be
part of the conversation!”(Taub)
6. Acquire Domain Names.
“This will help control what people
see when they search your name.” (Taub)
7. Create a Positive Online Reputation
“It should
be carefully managed before you get to that point, but it’s fairly typical
people don’t pay attention to it until it becomes a necessity.”(McGinnis)
8. Your
Students Will Google You.
Be careful of what you post on any of
the media sites. If you don’t want your
students to see it then it should not be in the internet.
9. Be
Proactive
Use sites like about.me to set up a
base of information that you control and link your other accounts to that. “This “service
as a “digital splash screen,” designed to introduce people to you quickly,
before they decide whether and in what manner to engage with your content.”
(Jones)
10. Be
Active
Don’t be afraid of the social media
sites, use them. They can be a great way to connect with friends, family,
coworkers, and even students. Just remember that what is put out can never be
brought back.
The
internet has opened so many doors for me in my personal and my professional
life. If I keep working to make sure
that I have a positive digital footprint, I will be able to continue to utilize
it in my personal and professional life in the future.
Digital Citizenship
Adventures. (Managing your digital footprint.) (n.d). Retrieved from https://sites.google.com/site/digcitizenshipadventures/managing-your-digital-footprint
Jones, Jason. (November, 17, 2010). The Chronicle of
Higher Education Your Digital Calling Card: About.me. Retrieved from http://www.chronicle.com/blogs/profhacker/your-digital-calling-card-about-me/28755
Lowenthal, Partick and Dunlap, Joanna. (June 5, 2012). Intentional
Web Presence: 10 SEO Strategies Every Academic Needs to Know. Retrieved from
