How Big Is Your Digital Footprint?

Digital Footprints

In class this past Wednesday, we discussed the power of social media. Digital footprints are everything that someone posts, shares, and logs into. There are various positive and negative sides of every social media platform. The discussion with Cameron Brenchley was very informative about how professional establishments use social media to inform the public. Cameron Brenchley, Vice President at Collaborative Communications Group, discussed how everything posted is proof read and checked vigorously before being posted to the public. We also discussed how Cameron actually went to college for history and served in the Air Force before claiming his current position.

Attention young professionals! 

What's in your digital baggage?

As young professionals with so many ways to post, share, and incriminate ourselves using social media, it is very important to be smart before posting. Jared was not “social media savvy” in this video. Potential employers use social media to collect information and get a general idea of what kind of person they are hiring. Digital baggage can help potential employers root out future problems. I, personally, try not to post anything that may cause problems for myself in the future. Many people forget how easy it is to “Google” someone and retrieve any information you want about them. I see many future professionals post pictures of parties or using drugs, which is a big red flag for anyone who potentially wants to hire them.

What's your digital footprint?

A digital footprint can potentially ruin someone’s professional career. A digital footprint is anything someone shares, posts, or even logs into. Some people think that after a photo or post is “deleted” that it is gone forever. A digital footprint can be permanent. No one can take off their entire existence from the internet. Everyone is accountable for what they post and share online and it can be used against them at any time. There is more information about digital footprints in this article.

How to successfully use Snapchat for your career

Snapchat is an app that is designed to share “stories” by giving people the chance to capture short videos or pictures and have them disappear after being viewed once. People also have the ability to make instances apart of their semi-permanent story and can be viewed multiple times by followers. Snapchat can be used to showcase creative resumes. It can also be used to show future employers a glimpse into a possible employee’s personal life. An example of this can be an artist seeking employment showing his/her home studio and creations. More information on Snapchat and it’s useful features can be found here.

Chapter 1- Untangling the Web

Chapter 1 discussed web tools that can be used such as Diigo and Symbaloo. Diigo reminds me of Facebook for teachers. On Diigo you can highlight things on any website and add notes or comments on articles as well. Diigo is really good for bookmarking information that you come by on the internet. Symbaloo is also a good tool to use. I didn’t know to much about until I read the chapter. Symbaloo saves your websites that you bookmark in neat little titles that you can login from any device, so you have them wherever you go. To get a better understanding of how Symbaloo worked, I looked up a video that was really helpful.

Facebook Pros and Cons on Twitter

This week, I posted a link to Twitter of my Google Slides about the Pros and Cons of Facebook. Facebook has a large amount of positive and negative aspects. Facebook can be used to help people access a company on a tablet or phone easily. This social media platform can be used to invite people to events effortlessly and without the need for addresses or postage. It also gives the host the opportunity to make changes and have them show up as a notification so that way everyone stays updated. Facebook is an easy way for businesses’ to rate customer satisfaction and boost marketing. The negatives of this platform is that some competitors can easily steal ideas and use them to boost their own online presence. If a Facebook page is to be successful, then there must be someone who is dedicated to updating frequently, usually multiple times a day. Facebook is an easy place for people to be scammed. It can also be a place where profiles are duplicated and used to post falsely on someone’s behalf.