Your Digital Portfolio

In class this past week we spoke about social media etiquette and watched videos on what not to post on social media. In one of the videos, a man was going for an interview and when the employer searched his Facebook, unprofessional posts came up. He posted pictures of him drinking at parties and leaving work early. Ultimately, this was the reason he did not get the job. We also spoke about Social Media hacks and how everything you post is stored. For example, two years ago Snapchat got hacked and the hacker leaked the content Snapchat had stored. Snapchat is known for information disappearing after 24 hours, however, this is not the case. Through the website, Pnowed I was able to find out that two of the websites I've used from my email have been hacked. This is something to take into consideration when storing things on different apps or social media. We split up into groups and made a power point slide explaining the pros and cons of different apps. Apps such as, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter have more power than people seem to realize. You have to be careful what you leak out for the world to see because in reality, it will never go away. To prove how easy it is to find out information, Jack Vale did an experiment regarding social media. He searched for posts in his area and went up to the people who posted them. Vale would say there name and get information out of them just through the information they put on social media. Although this experiment is creepy it is completely legal. One of the people he approached said, "thanks for invading our privacy" and "I'll just call the cops." In reality calling the cops would be pointless cause by the state of law, he did nothing wrong.

To further understand the importance of digital footprints I read the article," Whats Your Digital Footprint?" In essence, your digital footprint is how you display yourself on social media. This is information transmitted online, such as e-mails, attachments, uploading videos or digital images and any other form of transmission of information that traces back to you and the content you upload. There are three steps to establishing an online identity.  The first step is to begin. When you are 13 you are legally allowed to begin creating your digital profile. Posting clean content is a must and it is also smart to use your real name. You should stick to the same username so you can be easily identified across different sources of media.  

After class last week Professor Calderwood expressed how he now teaches his young students about digital citizenship skills. Children as young as 1st grade must have a general understanding of social media and the risks and/or consequences of being born in the digital world. The article, Even Our Youngest Students Need Digital Citizenship Skills, explains how crucial it is to teach children digital citizenship skills. The first time I went on social media was in 4th grade, now my brother is in kindergarten and he uses social media and cell phones as well as I do. Technology is advancing so much compared to where it was 5-10 years ago. Parents have no idea how to monitor it properly because it is brand new to them. To ensure that all children are educated on how to properly approach social media, they are teaching instructions regarding digital citizenship in schools. The instructions given are to be a learner, to be safe and to be respectful.  

As important it is for children to understand digital citizenship skills, it's important for adults as well. When going for job interviews it is extremely easy for employers to find information about you solely based on your digital footprints. The article, 11 Tips For Students To Manage Their Digital Footprints explains 11 ways to monitor and maintain positive digital footprints. It is important to keep all your accounts on private at all times so that they are not accessible by random people. This ensures that what you post is private to you and your friends , but keep in mind, anything on social media can be shared easily. It is also important to google yourself every so often to make sure your digital footprint is clean and positive. The last thing you want is for your employer to search you and see inappropriate images. Many adults have lost their jobs due to foolish mistakes on social media. On a day to day basis people tend to forget that in this digital world, you must be extremely careful of what you post and where you post it. Another tip given from this article was a list of websites that block tracking cookies and can be used to your advantage. These sites give users control over site scripts. 

Chapter 6, Becoming a Conscious Creator of Content of the book Lol...OMG! is pretty self explanatory. The author, Matt Ivester writes this chapter to help his readers think about where they want to draw the line in regards to sharing on social media. The first question to ask yourself is, "why?" Why are you posting that post or retweeting that tweet. When you ask yourself why prior, you are giving yourself time to understand your own intentions and not act on impulse. Media is an easy way to pass time but must be used carefully. In some cases you have to think, is this post really necessary or appropriate? Timing is also a huge part of being a conscious creator of content. If your emotions are altered at all or your mind isn't in the right place, it's likely that it is not a good time to post. You don't want to post something that you'll wake up to tomorrow and regret. Likewise, it is important to pay attention to who is allowed to view your information. In my opinion, it is smart to be on private. This will decrease the chance of your information being shared without permission. Overall, it is crucial to be aware of the content you post. As Ivester stated, In the real world first impressions are based on how you come off, however, the digital world uses the content you share to get to know you.