What is an
“Online Identity”?
An “Online Identity” according to Wikipedia can be defined as “Internet
identity (also called IID), or internet persona is a social identity that an
Internet user establishes in online communities and websites. It can also be
considered as an actively constructed presentation of oneself. Although some
people prefer to use their real names online, some Internet users prefer to be
anonymous, identifying themselves by means of pseudonyms, which reveal varying
amounts of personally
identifiable information.”
Full Name
Google Search Results
I “Googled” my full name to see what information was readily available
about me online and found only a link to my LinkedIn profile (first result) as
well as a few comments that I posted recently on public Facebook pages for a
few local small businesses as well as a few blog comments for entry into
contests. There are only a couple of photos of me in the Images section
(LinkedIn profile picture) and nothing came up in any of the other Google
categories (Videos, News or Maps). I was most surprised to see that there were
not more photos in the Images results or more contest entry blog comments
showing up as I have a lot of photos stored online (Facebook) and enter a lot
of online contests.
Managing
Online Presence
I am working to maintain a professional online presence, so I am
definitely going to ensure that I review each of my social profiles and the
privacy and security settings to make sure that I am only sharing what I want
to share with whom I want to share it. The Facebook “View Profile As” feature
is a wonderful tool to check on what the general public or specific friends can
see on your profile. I don’t get involved in any heated or controversial
discussions online, so maintaining a professional online presence is not very
difficult to do. Ensuring that any old photos that show nights out at the bar
are removed and reviewing older content from the early days of Facebook to
ensure that there is nothing controversial or negative that I wouldn’t want my
family, friends, boss or colleagues to see. It all comes down to the question
of “Would you be embarrassed or get into trouble if your
family/friends/boss/co-workers saw that post?” If the answer is Yes, then it probably shouldn’t be
posted online. “You want to retain some control
over how others perceive you.” –Chris Pollock
Online
Reputation Management
Some people are very guarded and post very little online, while others
post their every moment for everyone to see. I came across a great resource
meant for teenagers, but the tips for online identity and reputation management
would work for anyone. “Remember that
nothing is temporary online. Mark
your profiles as private. Safeguard
your passwords and change them frequently. Don't post inappropriate or sexually provocative pictures or comments.
Don't respond to inappropriate requests”. For those
of us who didn’t grow up fully immersed in the Internet from an early age, this
can be a gentle reminder that once something is online it may come back to
haunt you at a later time as nothing is temporary online. From
The Online Identity Crisis “It is not about being anonymous or even pretending to
be someone else. It is about controlling which subsets of true facets of a
person are relevant in different social contexts. This is fundamentally not
deceptive but actually enables one to be authentic.” It is best to err on the side of caution and to curate your online
persona to ensure that you are showing your best positive self to the world.
References
Dowshen MD, Steven.
(September 2013). Protecting Your Online
Identity and Reputation. Retrieved from
Krotoski, Aleks. (April 19,
2012). Online identity: is
authenticity or anonymity more important?. Retrieved from
Pollock, Chris. (April 10, 2015). Privacy is Dead! Find a Better
Encryption Solution, Protect Sensitive Information. Retrieved from
Vronay, Dave. (2014). The Online
Identity Crisis. Retrieved from
Wikipedia. (November 24,
2015). Online Identity. Retrieved
from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Online_identity
