Digital Footprints

My Plan for a Positive Online Presence from David Yargo

My thoughts on living in a world where digital footprints are unavoidable are that it's just a part of life in the 21st century. On one hand, I would love to live a completely anonymous life on the web. It would be nice to reap all the benefits of gathering information on any topic I wish, keeping up with friends and colleagues and networking without having to leave any mark of my own. However, having a digital footprint is simply the cost of doing business on the web. Joining social media outlets and using the internet as a means of gathering information and ideas is a huge benefit of the digital world, but you have to give back a little. I've just accepted that if I want to be "linked in", then I am going to have to accept the fact that certain pieces of me are going to be available to the public. This is not a problem for me or anyone else, if properly managed. Overall, I think that having a solid and respectable digital footprint can be a great benefit for many people.  If you keep a professional appearance in your photos, keep your posts free of harmful rants on any number of sensitive subjects, and share worthwhile information that people can use, then your digital footprint can be helpful in networking with the right people or possibly land you a great job.

What I discovered about my own digital footprint is that it is small and, from a professional standpoint, incomplete. For instance, a Google search of my name only reveals my Twitter handle (my Tweets are protected), my published learning blogs for the EdTech program at Boise State and a few stray Prezi's I created when I was a K-12 teacher. When I did a Google image search, the only photos that showed up were my Twitter profile pictures and my Google+ profile picture. I rarely post anything, including photos on Facebook and I do not allow others to tag me without my approval. That's the "good" part of my digital footprint. I didn't find anything negative about myself. However, my LinkedIn profile is incomplete, my Facebook page is void of any professional references other than my job and education and my blogs are not up to date and they lack information that could serve as a resume builder. My goal in the next few months is to clean up any irrelevant "stuff" on my Facebook and Twitter accounts, complete my LinkedIn profile, and up date my blogs. That will give me a solid digital footprint.