Digital Identity basics (2014)

Cultivating Your Professional Identity

2014. Robin
Fay, georgiawebgurl
robinfay.net

Robin Fay / @georgiawebgurl


 Reputation Management, Digital
identity, DigiCred
 What is it & why it's important

 Identity Management + Branding
 Developing your identity
 Professional networking using social
media



Digital credibility goes beyond digital identity and
reputation management...
but let's back up a minute. What are reputation
management and digital identity?
Digital identity:
• what you create online
• what others create about you (tagged
photos, etc.) including governmental resources –
tax records, criminal records, etc.



• It is your digital footprint, what
you leave behind at sites
• It is "googling" yourself
• Your permanent record



Reputation management then is just
creating and controlling (managing)
your identity
Reputation management is about
building the positive and minimizing the
negative

It is about cultivating the identity you
want to present to the world.



Reputation management is the process of tracking an
entity's actions and other entities' opinions about those
actions; reporting on those actions and opinions; and
reacting to that report creating a feedback loop. All entities
involved are generally people, but that need not always be
the case. Other examples of entities include
animals, businesses, or even locations or materials. The
tracking and reporting may range from word-of-mouth to
statistical analysis of thousands of data points.
--wikipedia, 2010.



• Why is all of this important?
• Before you can effectively
network, you have to create a
foundation -- in this digital world, that
means an online presence, an online
reputation – we are all brands



• People DO get hired and
receive positive benefits
from social media
• People DO get fired over
what they
write, photograph, video, e
tc. and share online



Employees fired over twitter
o The tweet:
"Cisco just offered me a job! Now I have
to weigh the utility of a fatty paycheck
against the daily commute to San Jose
and hating the work.”
The result: job offer withdrawn



• Employees fired over twitter
o and other:
o CNN on Wednesday removed its senior
editor for Middle Eastern affairs, Octavia
Nasr, from her job after she published a
Twitter message saying that she respected
the Shiite cleric the Grand Ayatollah
Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah, who died
on Sunday.



• and it's not just written content, but images
too.
Reporters and photographer fired over
parody youtube videos
3 on-air journalists and a photographer
from the NBC affiliate KARK in Little
Rock, Ark., were fired after they posted
two YouTube videos that spoofed
working in the newsroom.



• So, cultivating a positive and appropriate online presence
for your particular field of work is important.
• Important enough that there are even companies who do
“damage control” and reputations management.

• These companies and professionals attempt to "work"
google and social media sites to manage, grow, and
yes, even repair, online reputations.

Robin Fay, robinfay.net, 2014/



Robin Fay, robinfay.net, 2014


Do use social media and the
web to start building your web
presence now
o Develop your social media
strategy for YOUR BRAND>
You are your brand
o Free ways to get out on the
web: google
sites, drupalgardens, blogger,
wordpress.org, flickr, mugshots
, sportshooter, tweet photos
using twitpix, facebook page
for your professional
presence, claimID, linkedIN
o



• DIY reputation management
o "Claim" your ID at sites even if you are not using it
o
o

o
o

o

o

Google yourself
Network with aspirational professionals, e.g., connect
with them on linkedin or twitter
Keep your private life, well... private > Keep up with
privacy settings
Create professional and personal accounts, if
needed
You do not have to accept every “friend”
request, either, if the person does not fit into your
strategy/policy for a particular site.
Use an appropriate image and tone – remember your
privacy settings



How you can use social media:
• Build a record of your achievements – career
and outside life
• Find jobs and promotions (career
counseling, resume services, etc., recruitment)
• Find help (services / groups)
• IM/Contact info
• Outreach & PR
• Receive job offers/consulting requests
• Professional development/education
• Mentor


Tips for professional networking
• Develop your community:
• Search for colleagues you already know and
respect.
• Search their friend/follow lists to see who they
follow.
• If using twitter, watch the #FF or #followfriday
• If using a service with groups (such as
linkedIN) join groups that fit your professional
development needs.
• Always include a personal message when
sending a friend/follow/network request.


Cultivating your network
• Don’t ignore your network; spend some time with
it regularly. It can be everyday or 2 x a week.
• Find what time works for you: many people feel
that the most effective use of social media is
between 9-5 M-F.
• Respond to feedback: direct
messages, IMs, emails, comments, @ s and
other ways of connecting.
• Share interesting and professional information
with your network.


• Unfortunately social media is also used:
As a screening device (in employment, among
others)
o To harass and bully others
o To spam
o As a employment tool (firing over inappropriate
conduct, etc.)
o As a way to spy
o Even insurance companies are using
Facebook and other social media sites.
o


Robin Fay, robinfay.net
2014


Promote your use of social media
• Let people know how to network with you.
• Of course, that doesn’t mean that you have to tell them about your private
(personal) accounts – just the ones where you do network.


Professional Your Professional Identity
Cultivating Networking & Digital Identity

Pick your media: you do not
have to use all of them.


Robin Fay, robinfay.net
2014

•

Twitter
o is good for finding communities and
professional networking
o following trending topics and realtime
news
o PR
o Sharing information
o Following or participating in conferences
and workshops
o Getting answers to questions
o Can be customized
o Limited privacy settings
o DM/PMs



• LinkedIn
o
o
o
o
o

More of a resume/CV site
You control how much info is displayed
Can pull in feeds
More professional
Not as much engagement

• Good for
o Professional networking/
professional work
o Finding colleagues and
professional peers
o Finding professional discussion
groups
o Job recruitment/consulting work


• Facebook
o Somewhat complicated privacy settings
but some parts (interests, etc. )are
public info –watch both your settings
and your network
o Mix of personal and professional
depending on user
o Standard interface; little customization
o Pages may be a better way to connect
professionally


Smart uses of social media:
• Read the TOS and Privacy statements. Yes, they
are boring and confusing….and they sometimes
change.
• Always doublecheck preferences or options in
any social media site.
• Think about the information you give away. Use a
“throwaway” email address if possible.
• Don’t make your private life public (unless that is
your goal). Be aware of social networking
etiquette.
• ..and always be aware of ATC Computer usage
policies.


• Google yourself and cultivate your web
presence. Remember, you are your
brand.
• Use digital identity services like claimID
and openID.
• Social media is an incredibly powerful tool
for networking.
• Check your reputation and influence.




Robin Fay, @georgiawebgurl
2014

Digital Identity basics (2014)

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