A
digital footprint is the tracks one leaves on the Internet related to
themselves. These “footprints” can be either positive or negative towards ones
self, and can play an important role in your life.
Throughout
University, I have always been told to create a positive digital footprint.
With being a business major, professors and colleagues are always pushing me to
do so in order to become noticed by the millions of other people in the world.
With creating a positive footprint, it leaves a positive impression of myself
on those who are looking into my background through the Internet.
Additionally,
the Internet is becoming more and more of a strong source of recruitment in companies.
For example, employers are using websites such as LinkedIn, Twitter, and
Facebook, as a pre-screening process. If an employer sees that you have taken
the time to create a positive footprint for yourself, you may move on to the
next phase in this recruitment process.
However, I know
that having a digital footprint has often been avoided in the past, based on
the fact that if there wasn’t any information about you on the Internet,
nothing negative could be concluded. This was mentioned in one of the
recommended articles by “djainslie” in her blog about having a digital
footprint called “Yes you should have a digital footprint… but keep track of it”.
She mentions that she used to tell her fellow colleagues that they should never
have social media profiles or leave a digital footprint. She admits that this
perspective of hers has completely changed and in fact now promotes the
community of the digital world. She states that the digital community allows
her to stay current and interact with others on a global scale.
Another great
blog piece recommended in this weeks reading was also written by "djainslie",
which was a cheat sheet on techniques for “maintaining a positive digital footprint”.
My one major take away from this post that can sum up most of these tips is to
always remember to be professional, positive, and productive in everything you
write. As long as you follow those guidelines, a positive footprint will
follow.
I follow this
professional, positive, and productive strategy for maintaining a positive
digital footprint. It has been stressed to be numerous times that once
something is on the Internet; you have no control over its outcome. This has
always frightened me and has forced me to always be extra cautious with the
information I portray. A saying that is always floating around in the back of
my mind is “If you wouldn’t say it to your Parents of Grandparents, it probably
isn’t appropriate”.
The Secondary
Digital Driver’s License exam provided through the text was a fun and
interesting way to get a closer look at the different areas of digital
citizenship. Luckily for me, digital citizenship has been an area of learning
that has been very important in terms of the work I have done in the past. Due
to this, I was able to do quite well on this exam. However, one great take away
from this exam was getting a greater understanding of the different elements
that make up digital citizenship and I look forward to advancing my learning in
all of these areas.
The one area of digital citizenship that I
would really like to learn more about is digital access. When I was answering
the questions regarding this area, it made me think deeper about my
understanding for this matter. I found that in answering some of the questions
in the other elements, they could be attributed to common sense. However, when
looking at digital access, I found that unless you have already learned this
information, these questions might not be so simple. That is why I look forward
to learning more about this area in the weeks to come.
I hope you enjoyed my thoughts on this week’s
material.
Take care,
Chris
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