Safeguarding My Digital Identity - Plan BDavid “B” Bernheim - Edtech 543 - Fall 2014

Identity is an essential characteristic of the experience of being human. (George, Don & Uma, 2003, p. 82)

1 - Be The Monitor of My Identity

● Patrol a variety of search engines to ensure I am keeping my best foot forward.

● Work to minimize or eliminate items that distract from my whole.

● Whereas identification is a static concept, the concept of identity or the digital self is altogether more dynamic because it is arguably situated, negotiated, and underpinned by trust (Roussos, Peterson, & Patel 2003, p. 83).

2 - Be My Domain

● Purchase my domain, whether .com, .me, or .us● Create a professional website (Lowenthal, & Dunlap, 2012).● While you might have a web page on your institution's website that

lists your area of expertise, CV, and possibly even information about courses taught or recent publications, we believe academics need to get their own professional website — ideally with a specific domain name (Lowenthal, & Dunlap, 2012).

3 - Be My Brand

● Ensure I am consistent across platforms, sites, media to insure my brand represents me best.

● Join BrandYourself or AboutMe to ensure I direct SEO and influence outcomes rather than leaving to chance.

● You can create personal hubs that link to your social media profiles (Anderson, 2012).

4 - Be The Professional ● Blog frequently about relevant topics in education.● Respond and post to others in my field.● Recognize that any posts whether on personal or professional sites

represent me.● Academics wishing to be seen as thought leaders in their discipline

need to be intentional about how, when, and what shows up when someone uses a search engine like Google to search on their name or area(s) of research (Lowenthal, & Dunlap, 2012).

5 - Be My Best Me● Control what I post on Social Media.● Ensure pictures posted reflect my best me.● Eliminate posting on topics that can be

misconstrued and are not relevant to my professional image.

● The exploding popularity of these sites (Facebook, MySpace) has engendered a prurient interest in teachers’ “private” lives by both school administrators and the media (Simpson, 2010).

6 - Be A Learner● Participate in discussions that help me

grow.● Participate in webinars to learn new

ways to influence positive outcomes.● Be open to new technologies.● I need to learn not only to be digitally

savvy and teach my students to be so, I also need to learn to model digital behavior ie, establish a reputable digital identity which students can look up to and follow as an example (Costa, & Torres, 2011, p 49).

7 - Be A Gardener● Cultivate my reputation to produce the best outcomes.● Leave nothing to chance.● Cultivate professional relationships and expand my PLN.● It is important to diversify your PLN. Put people around you who

cause you to think differently. People who are straightforward and willing to connect in uncomfortable conversations (Blankenship, 2012).

8 - Be Secure● Safeguard passwords and change frequently.● Consider using pseudonyms for non-professional communication.● Current identity management systems increasingly harm privacy

and security, rather than enhancing either (Camp, 2004, p 41).

9 - Be Social● Learn to use Twitter to my

advantage.● Learn other forms of Social Media to

increase my own relevance.● Principals must move beyond

communication to “community building and collaboration” using social media the way it was designed (Blankenship, 2012).

10 - Be Precise● Focus on creating titles of self-

created works that have words that will appear in searches by others.

● Ensure my social media communication conforms to my school system’s Social Media Guidelines (Anderson, n.d.).

● In absence of SMG, be the leader to gather stakeholders and work to create and implement one for the benefit of my school’s community (Anderson, n.d.).

The sea is not inherently dangerous.

It is supremely intolerant of the careless.

Anonymous

References:

Anderson, S., (n.d.). How to create social media guidelines for your school. Edutopia. Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/social-media-guidelines-resource-guideBlankenship, S. (2012). Social media and two-way communication. Connected Principals. Retrieved from http://connectedprincipals.com/archives/5710Camp, L. J. (2004). Digital identity. IEEE Technology & Society Magazine, 23(3). 34-41.Costa, C., & Torres, R. (2011). To be or not to be, the importance of Digital Identity in the networked society. Educação, Formação & Tecnologias, n.º extra, Abril de 2011, 47-53. Retrieved from http://www.eft.educom.pt/index.php/eft/article/view/216George, R., Don, P., & Patel, U. (2003). Mobile identity management: An enacted view. International Journal of Electronic Commerce, 8(1), 81-100.Lowenthal, P., & Dunlap, J. (2012). Intentional web presence: 10 SEO strategies every academic needs to know. Educause Review Online. Retrieved from http://www.educause.edu/ero/article/intentional-web-presence-10-seo-strategies-every-academic-needs-knowMcGinnis, S. (2012). Online reputation management: A how-to guide. Spinsucks. Retrieved from http://spinsucks.com/communication/online-reputation-management-a-how-to-guide/

Simpson, M. (2010). Social networking nightmares. Tomorrow’s Teachers. Retrieved from http://www.nea.org//home/38324.htm

Image Credits:Image fingerprint -http://pixabay.com/static/uploads/photo/2012/12/14/11/36/binary-69996_640.jpgOnline Identity - http://tinyurl.com/oo86arnIdentity Card - http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/eb/National_Registration_Identity_Card_%28Front_Cover%29.pngWebsearch - http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/75/Internet1.jpgMobile Bicycle Billboard - http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6c/Mobile_Bicycle_Billboard_from_Singapore,_April_9_2013.jpgFaceebook - https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2705/13203226213_c1eee42fb9_t.jpgNetworkLearner - http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/81/Network_learner.jpgDigifest2014 - http://www.jisc.ac.uk/sites/default/files/digifest-news.jpgPadlocks - http://farm8.static.flickr.com/7228/6889241086_daf439e6b7.jpgFlipflopIcons - http://fc00.deviantart.net/fs71/i/2010/014/8/5/Flip_Flop_Social_Media_Icons_by_EffBomb.jpgGoogleSEO - http://pixabay.com/p-411105/?no_redirect