The concept of digital identity has been defined in many ways. Simply put, as we search the internet, check our emails, post to social media, and buy those new shoes, we create digital traces (Tactical Technology Collective, n.d.). Digital traces that contain unique identifying traits are used to form a digital identity. This identity may not be accurate or how you wish to be seen online. After google stalking a fellow academic, Mewburn (2015) was curious about her own digital identity and sought to find out how her online self was portrayed through a series of google searches by herself and others.
Mewburn’s search for what her digital identity looked like to her and others prompted me to also stalk myself online. I used Google, a private search engine Duck Duck Go, and used incognito browser windows to search for myself on social media. Like Mewburn, the results of my search were interesting. I found almost no digital traces of me, my digital identity was almost non-existent to the casual searcher. While this was interesting, it wasn’t surprising. I had always had quite high levels of privacy controls on my social media, but after reading the information on Me and My Shadow (Tactical Technology Collective, n.d.) I reviewed my security and privacy controls on my browser and social media so that the amount of data sites collected about me was reduced and my information was more private. It was good to see that the actions I took towards privacy and security were working. However, this exercise has made me think more about my digital identity as an information professional.
As I near the end of my degree and begin to transition into becoming an information professional, I will need to actively cultivate an online identity which employers and other industry professionals will be able to find and use to understand who I am as an information professional and what my future goals are. To ensure my digital identity reflects who I am as a professional, I will use an adaption of Mewburn’s (2015) minimal presence. I will continue adding my blog after the subject has finished and promote it on Twitter. I will create and build my presence on Twitter and LinkedIn and use these platforms to network with other information professionals. Through these actions I will be able to influence my digital identity so that it accurately and professionally reflects who I am as an information professional.
Mewburn, I. (2015, August 11). Scholar, google thyself. The Thesis Whisperer. https://thesiswhisperer.com/2015/08/11/scholar-google-thyself
Tactical Technology Collective (n.d.). What are digital traces? Me & My Shadow. https://apps.csu.edu.au/reftool/apa-7/world-wide-web#webpage-on-a-website