Whether it’s a potential employer, current employer, budding romantic partner, long-time significant other, or someone else in your life, there’s a good chance they have or will run a Google search for your name. Do you know everything that they’ll find?
That was penned by Kim Komando, who recently wrote a Special for USA TODAY titled Why you should Google yourself now. So I did. Here is what I found:
I didn’t even make the Top 10! Damn. So now I’m conflicted. Should I be happy that my online profile is not appearing in the Top 10 Google results? Or should I be upset that my positive contributions are not ‘out’ there enough for all to see and read about? Hmm…tough call.
It’s hard to argue with the fact that people are getting more and more paranoid by the digital tattoos, digital shadows and digital footprints they are leaving behind all over the internet. Some guy named Edward Snowden had something to do with that I’m sure. And when I think about that USA Today article, I can’t help but think it’s just a headline, a way of selling more newspapers or driving more clicks to their site. I would love to say that blaming the media for our sense of paranoia is the right thing to do, but I can’t. Especially when I read the stats from DOMO on how much data is created every minute. See for yourself, it’s staggering!
These days, we are encouraged to add lots of information about ourselves onto the internet…photos, art, poetry, videos, blogs, personal profiles. That’s quite clear from the message above. All the while, it’s understood that we are leaving traces of ourselves for other less scrupulous people or companies to find and target. Quite the dichotomy to say the least.
But when I think of this question,
Should you have a digital footprint as an international educators?
I have trouble trying to come up with a reasonable response. On the one hand, are we advocating that it is better for staff and teachers to have a ‘clean’ profile? Are we saying that is a good thing? Should they be commended for their lack of transparency?
On the other, what are they contributing to the field of education if they’re are not modeling 21st century skills? Do they have something to hide?
I’m sure these are questions that many management teams have struggled with over the years. Do we choose what appears to be the safe option, or the one who may cause controversy because of their views and their profile of work? Is it possible to find someone with the best mix of both? If there even is one.
For someone like myself, in a leadership role, I campaign for management to hire the best staff possible. People are a resource. In education, they are our best resource. It’s crucial that we find staff members who not only fit in with our community school ethos, but also with our mission and values of a school that is trying to lead in teaching 21st century skills. And that requires seeing their body of work before passing judgment.
How would one help or hinder you if you go looking for a new job?
Even this question makes me wonder, have we not figured it out yet? Surely, over the course of the past 15 years people have read about job opportunities lost due to profiles that were less than ideal. The internet is awash with interesting events of people making poor choices. And on the flip-side, there are those who have done good work and documented their achievements being aptly rewarded with new positions in new environments.
When thinking about jobs and employment, I believe one needs to realize that networking and marketing yourself is the most efficient, successful method to getting the job you want. Setting yourself apart from the rest of the candidate pool and making yourself memorable can be tough, but it can be aided with a positive online presence. A presence that makes you stand out for all the right reasons.
What then are the implications for students and how should we be teaching them to have a positive digital footprint?
I do realise that personal information is routinely collected and kept for years and years by companies wanting to sell us stuff. And that’s one of the many challenges we face in education as EdTech specialists. As a GAFE school, I’m all for productivity and simplification, but when it comes to handing over data to companies just to use their products, I really have to scratch my head and think long and hard about the implications there will be if I accept the terms and conditions of their service. Don’t even start with iTunes. Most of the time I just feel like I’m being violated. But what can I do? What can we do? We can only continue to educate ourselves and our students on how to be aware of the things we are sharing online.
In the readwrite article Calculate Your “Digital Footprint” with New Tool from EMC by Sarah Perez, she concluded with this statement:
In the long run, it will be up to businesses to adapt to these changes and protect their customer’s data. Those that don’t will pay as their clients take their business to safer, more protective businesses elsewhere. And for us, just being aware of our impact on the digital universe is a good place to start.
Although I understand the position that she took (written in 2008) by stating that it is ultimately up to companies to manage our data better, I do believe that the majority of people are not like us. They are not paranoid. They don’t really give a damn to be honest. If it works, and I can post across multiple sites without having to remember yet another password, then yahoo! So what if they want my data!? Who cares if I’m leaving behind another breadcrumb. It’s not that big a deal to be honest…
You get my point. No one wants to read the fine print, it’s too long and complicated. They may think twice, but they’re not leaving.
I would have to think the recent breach of Ashley Madison changed quite a few people’s mind on the subject, but it continues to take such scandals to bring to light what we are sacrificing for mere convenience. Or a shag, in this case.
In the end, we do need to be aware of our own digital footprint if we are to teach our students. We need to make sure that we teach students AND teachers to celebrate themselves and their beliefs so that their digital footprint represents a picture of someone they are proud of.
That message takes time to develop; but what an important message it is.