Establishing and maintaining an online presence, and controlling the trajectory of your digital identity, is a highly effective method to ensure professional success. For the longest time, I operated under the following assumptions: anything I put online, regardless of privacy settings, is public; and it is important to separate your professional identity from your personal one. While the ladder is a great rule to follow when engaging online, the former is no longer completely valid. Traditional ideology about keeping your personal life and professional life separate when online is far more… wishy washy than in years prior. Everything sort of blends together now and it all forms your digital identity. In short, it's all about the authentic you!
Image Source: https://pixabay.com/photos/pointing-finger-gesture-4190930/
According to Zwilling (2015), not having an online identity can actually do more harm than good as potential employers or business partners will be less likely to interact with a person that has no online presence. In business terms, the risk is a lot higher when the candidate is unknown without any readily available information beyond what is offered. But we don't want to share or post only professional "business as usual" content. People don't just want to see what you can do and what you have done, but they also want to learn about who you are. What is your personality? What are your values? Are you more than just a professional or academic robot (Emery, 2015)? This is why it is important to not have such a strict barrier between your personal life and your professional life. Don't be afraid to publicly share your support for a good cause; or to share a random selfie of you, and your pet or a loved one; or post a funny meme.
On that topic, here's a picture of me yesterday out and about enjoying the nice weather here in Connecticut that we are currently experiencing. See, personal and professional all under one umbrella! Just remember, everything we post online is potentially public and online forever, so as a rule of thumb, if you wouldn't share it with your boss in person, then maybe you shouldn't share it online either (Emery, 2015).
Aside from utilizing various social media platforms such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and so on, one great way to establish an online presence is with your own website and blog, much like this one you are currently reading. Back in 2019, I started this blog because I wanted a place to share my academic works and express myself; over time it grew to what we have today. And most recently, to better build my brand and online identity, last month, I combined my old MSOL blog, and my old M.Ed. blog, into this one blog and purchased a domain: williamkenyon.me. My domain name is simple but catchy and friendly, with the .me as the end of the URL, it's just me! My domain URL comfortably fits into my own brand identity; simple, catchy, witty, with an eye for design! I intend to utilize my blog as my central content hub where I can utilize a personal learning environment (PLE), but also showcase academic and professional artifacts, while likewise displaying a professional portfolio. From a branding and marketing standpoint, your website or blog should be the "core of your digital presence" (Your Website: The Core of Your Digital Presence, n.d.). Social media or content hubs outside your website would be how you branch out beyond your website to grow your audience and network, but everything starts at home, your website; which for me, is this blog.
As a website or blog is the core and launchpad of your digital identity, educators will be interested to learn that academically, there are numerous benefits to using blogs in education beyond building presence and a digital identity, as blogs actually enhance the learning experience and increase critical thinking skills (KILIÇ & GÖKDAŞ, 2014). Today, owning and maintaining a blog takes very little technological skill or proficiency to operate. This is so important because in a learning environment, it is critical that technology enhances the learning experience without getting in the way of the student. Blogs are dynamic in that the various features of a blog allow for easy, personalized set up and display, and categorical filtering of content. And we can use blogs for so many reasons in education, be it reflection (this very post), collaboration, or otherwise. Blogs as a tool for learning can increase a student’s information and communication technology perception, and blogging as an educational tool allows for students to develop a variety of cognitive, social, and self-directed learning skills (KILIÇ & GÖKDAŞ, 2014).
Further, blogs allow learners to organize thoughts on topics and draw connections to academic content throughout a learning experience. Blogs can be used for more than just one class, or program, but as a platform where continuous learning grows and evolves as a form of self-directed learning; the student can define and meet goals/milestones across the duration of the blog or a project, which enhances reflective thinking as the student’s thoughts and views change over time (KILIÇ & GÖKDAŞ, 2014). The social component of blogs also allows for support from other learners or professionals visiting the blog. Visitors can leave comments on blog posts creating an avenue for peer-assisted learning.
And by design, blogs are social platforms. In addition to giving a person a stage to establish presence and build a digital identity, blogs can enhance the community aspect of the classroom. Particularly with online, remote learning environments, blogs allow for students to connect with communities and break down walls of isolation that many students feel in the online classroom. Humans are social beings by nature; blogs help feed that need to connect that many students may feel is lacking in an online classroom, reducing the feelings of isolation many students have when taking an online course. These benefits all translate to higher levels of engagement and satisfaction among students utilizing blogs in the digital classroom.
Establishing and building your digital identity is critical in a modern professional and academic environment. A successful blog is a surefire way to meet that necessity. The benefits both professionally and academically are numerous in scope. So get out there, don't be afraid to make posts, and post frequently. Establish a presence. Don't be a mystery person, tell the world who you are and "this what I am all about!" Engage, engage, engage, don't fade away. Take control of the trajectory of your digital identity. And best of all, you get to learn new things and grow as a learner just by using the platform. Maintaining an online presence does take time and effort, but find a balance that works for you and keep at it; your future self will thank you!
References:
Emery, K. M. [MSU Graduate School]. (2015, October 2). Managing Your Digital Identity [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rg-fcEJL-tw
Teaching & Learning Innovations CSUCI. (2015, June 25). What is a digital identity? [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJzuDcyR0WM
Your Website: The Core of Your Digital Presence. (n.d.-b). Inc. Retrieved July 11, 2022, from https://www.inc.com/comcast/your-website-the-core-of-your-digital-presence.html
Zwilling, M. (2015). 6 keys to a positive online presence and reputation. Entrepreneur. Retrieved from https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/249053