Category Archives: Social Media

How to build your personal brand online

Posted on April 17, 2013 by | Leave a comment
CC-licensed image “Hello my name is” by flickr user maybeemily

CC-licensed image “Hello my name is” by flickr user maybeemily

A pleasant demeanour, professional attire, and a conventional paper resume are no longer the cardinal pillars of a good first impression. With the ever-increasing ubiquity of social media and digital communications, maintaining a positive brand online is equally as important as managing your reputation offline.

From Facebook to Google to LinkedIn to Twitter, the notion of personal branding is truly erupting. In fact, a considerable number of employers are now using online information to review potential hires, and Forbes magazine believes that developing your brand is not only essential for advancing your professional career, but also for your growth as a leader. 

So how can you build a positive and meaningful brand on the web?

Let’s take a look…

Step #1: DEFINE YOUR BRAND

According to graphic designer and self-branding guru Jordan Cass, “a successful brand celebrates personality, honors values and embodies the spirit of the subject that it represent.” In other words, your brand should not only showcase your holistic identity, but should also serve to differentiate you from your peers.

In order to define your brand, you must first identify the unique combination of personal attributes, motivators, passions, and beliefs that genuinely reflects who you are and what you have to offer. 

Ask yourself: What are my short- and long-term goals? What are my core strengths and implicit values? What makes me unique? Who is my target audience?

Step #2: CREATE YOUR BRAND

Now that you have defined your brand, it is time to make it come to life! Whether this means creating a personal or professional blog or website, joining new networks for learning, creating an e-portfolio, or simply tailoring content on pre-existing social profiles, is completely up to you. The important thing to remember is that effective branding is based on authenticity, so put your best foot forward and be truly honest in your efforts.

Dan Schawbel, author of Me 2.0: Build a Powerful Brand to Achieve Career Success and owner of the award-winning Personal Branding Blog, asserts that creating a web portfolio, updating social media profiles, and uploading your business card are all powerful and effective ways to establish your brand.

Step #3: MANAGE YOUR BRAND

Building your brand is and will always be an ongoing and evolving task. It will take time, consistency, and effort to maintain and grow, but regardless of which branding tools and techniques you choose to create your online voice, it is important to ensure that your message is clearly and consistently communicated across all platforms to your target audience.

To ensure the sustainable growth and development of your brand, continue to investigate novel opportunities for participation, expand and diversify your existing networks, and engage in online learning whenever possible.

What does personal branding mean to you? What does your personal brand say about you? How can managing your digital identity help you to create an authentic personal brand? 

Discuss in the comments below!

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Posted in Be Findable, Blogs, E-Portfolios, Employers Dig for Dirt, Social Media, Social Networks, Uncategorized

Roberto Luongo on Twitter? a lesson in social media profiling from the man behind the mask/screen

Posted on June 12, 2012 by | Leave a comment

Photo Source: Matt Boulton (CC-BY-SA)

Many of us who use social media struggle with finding the balance between being both anonymous and authentic online. Some of us are too anonymous; refusing to take ownership for the things we say and do. And yet some of us are too authentic, giving away too much of our regular, everyday lives. It brings us the question—is it possible for such contrasting concepts of anonymity and authenticity to co-exist?

Apparently so.

If you’re a Canuck fan and on Twitter, you’ve most likely heard of @strombone1, the alleged secret account of our starting goaltender, Roberto Luongo. Lu has dominated the post-season discussion, in part due to trade rumours, but also because he is believed to be running, as the Vancouver Sun’s Pass It To Bulis calls it, ‘one of the best athlete Twitter accounts in the history of the world … pretty much everything you want an athlete Twitter account to be: hilarious, interactive, topical, you name it. The only thing it isn’t… is verified.”

Now, Canuck fans may claim that on the ice, Lu isn’t nearly as ‘Quick’ as we’d like him to be. But what Canuck fans can’t disagree with is how @strombone1, Luongo or not, in finding and embracing the balance between anonymity and authenticity, has managed to utilize the powers of social media and his digital identity to entice and charm an ever-critical, Cup-less city.

A report by The Province puts together a comprehensive argument to suggest that @strombone1 is indeed our very own Bobby Lu. But at the end of the day, the mystery remains unsolved.

@strombone1 could very well be Luongo. But he also might not be. Whichever it is, he remains a testament to the digital community we live in today. When we post things, people are going to make assumptions about our regular life, whether or not they align with the truth or not. @strombone1 has been able to provide a glimpse into a hilariously witty and self-aware side of an athlete that on TV, has frequently appeared nervous and shaky. Likewise, our digital identity can make or break us, revealing a side of ourselves that will either improve or disprove the way we are perceived.

Last night, the LA Kings may have been crowned Stanley Cup champions, but when it comes to the dictating offense in the digital arena, I’d say @strombone1 deserves the throne.

 

 

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Posted in Be Findable, Connect, ConnectUpdates, ProtectUpdates, Social Media, Social Networks, Uncategorized, Updates, WorkUpdates

From Picture books to Facebook

Posted on June 5, 2012 by | Leave a comment

Photo Source: USAG-Humphrey's (CC-BY)

The Vancouver Sun reports that Facebook is seeking out methods to allow children under 13 to participate in the social network. The article acknowledges that though kids 13 and under are currently prohibited from registered use on the site due to federal law, there is already an estimated 7.5 million Facebook users out of the 900 million+ who fall right into this age range.

Evidently, enforcement of this ban is difficult—lying about your age is hardly challenging, and in some cases, parents are the ones to set up accounts for their children.

Apart from speculation regarding the connection between Facebook’s recent lack of success on Wall Street and their desire to increase audience and profit, this move to include under-13ers unquestionably raises key issues of privacy, online identity and the world we live in today.

Kids in this day and age are certainly no strangers to Facebook. I work teaching Grade 1′s and the other day, one of my students proudly told me she was famous. When I asked her why, she responded saying she was in her mom’s most recent Facebook profile picture, therefore making her “famous.” It’s clear the implications of social media are obvious to even children as young as 6—in the way that they allow us to network and connect with vast amounts of people.  And it’s clear that even if the kids themselves aren’t yet on the site, information about them may already be in circulation—through the accounts (and profile pictures) of their parents, family and friends.

Photo Source: marsmet524 (CC-BY-NC-SA)

In an article from the Toronto Star, Dr. Joshua Gans is quoted saying, “It’s a form of social interaction. You’d no more want to shield your kid from Facebook than you would keep them out of the playground at school, or from talking to adults at the party. It’s like social training wheels. You have to be concerned about privacy, but that’s part of the skill here, when it is appropriate to share information and not to share information.”

Contrastingly, James Styer, chief executive of Common Sense Media, questions, “Why on earth do we want seven or eight-year-olds on Facebook? Little kids need to learn to connect face to face.”

Could legally letting little kids onto a social networking giant such as Facebook possibly be just taking premature measures of what is inevitable? Could it even be beneficial to their digital education? For example, if exposed at a young age, will they be more aware of the digital tattoo they are creating for themselves?  Or could it just be detrimental to their growth as citizens in both the online and offline worlds? Will it further compromise their privacy and identity, commodities so preciously valued in our digital age?

Share your thoughts below.

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Posted in Adjust Your Privacy Settings, Connect, ConnectUpdates, LearnUpdates, Protect, Protect Yourself, ProtectUpdates, PublishUpdates, Social Media, Social Networks, Studying and Collaborating Online, Updates

Beaming: James Cameron may have been onto something with “Avatar”

Posted on May 15, 2012 by | Leave a comment
A family dressed as the avatars

Photo Source: Federico Campoli (CC BY-NC-SA)

Last week we saw the parallels between ourselves and superheroes as seen in “the Avengers.” However, it appears as though we may soon have more in common with Academy Award winning “Avatar” instead.

According to BBC News, the European Commission is funding a project to

“investigate how a person can visit a remote location via the internet and feel fully immersed in the new environment…[where] the visitor may be embodied as an avatar or a robot, interacting with real people.”

At this year’s Coachella, an extremely realistic hologram of the deceased Tupac came back to join Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre in a mind-blowing performance that few words can explain. Soon after, jokes were made about Coachella 2013’s “all-ghost” lineup. But with also deceased Freddie Mercury set to make a similar virtual appearance in London next Monday, it seems as if this I’m-here-but-not-really-here technology is indeed here—and here to stay.

The article describes how teleconferencing, overseas relationships, education, and the medical field would be transformed by this advancement in augmented reality that has already successfully “beamed” people from Barcelona to London. However, it also raises concerns about the heightened risk of deception and crime, especially in the areas of sexual harassment and identity theft. Just like how you will be able to craft your avatar’s appearance however way you please, (OMG gurl, blue skin really brings out your eyes!) there will be virtually (pun unintended) nothing you can do from stopping a hacker with all your personal information from generating and posing as you in avatar form.

So do the pros of this promising new technology outweigh the cons? Or vice versa? You tell us.

Will it allow us to better align our true selves to our online alter egos? Or will we instead be compromising our information and our privacy? Will it allow us to connect better with our world and our community? Or rather will we be, as in Sherry Turkle’s Ted talk, more “connected, but alone?”

We want to know what you think. In the meantime, for prepatory purposes, I’ll be painting myself blue.

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Posted in Connect, ConnectUpdates, Outwit Identity Theft, Protect, Protect Yourself, ProtectUpdates, Social Media, Social Networks, Studying and Collaborating Online, Updates, Wireless Safety

The Avengers, the Internet, and YOU

Posted on May 10, 2012 by | Leave a comment
Captain America is yelling at a frisbee

Photo Source: Andy Roth (CC:BY)

Last weekend, superhero movie “The Avengers” grossed $207, 438, 708 (via BoxOffice Mojo).

If you’re like me, and have yet to see this movie, don’t worry. The premise is simple: a bunch of regular folks with alter egos come together and are forced to co-exist for the greater good. Awesome. Except… wait a second. This sounds a little too familiar. Not in a hey-isn’t-this-like-every-other-superhero-movie-in-existence? kind of way, but in a hey-isn’t-this-what-I-do-everyday??  kind of way. See, when we participate on the Internet, we accomplish exactly what the premise of “the Avengers” offers: a bunch of regular folks (check) with alter egos (check) coming together (check,) forced to co-exist for the greater good (check).

Again, I haven’t seen “The Avengers,” but based on what I know of superhero movies, one of the larger plot points always concerns the contradiction of the superhero’s regular-day identity and his/her superhero identity. For us, this is also a growing concern; it’s inevitable that our true selves will creep into our online alter egos. Which raises the question of the Guardian’s Aleks Krotoski, “which is more important, “authenticity, or anonymity?” Suleika Jaouad of NYTimes Blogs believes that “”in a world of social media, [where] we are our own self-portraitists…there’s a liberation in the type of public honesty you can engage in on social mediawriting. ”

But how much authenticity is too much? Do we want to reveal all that we are on the internet? With the rise in demand for online verification services such as the MiiCard, with the aim tor help you prove “I am who I say I am” and control your own digital identity, it is clear that too much authenticity/personal information can give an adversary the tools to disarm us (see Superman; kryptonite.)

But then, what of anonymity? Do we want our online presence to be that much different from our true selves? Are we ready to back up the things we do under pseudonyms, should our masks come off? Defamatory statements, even posted under fake names, are not protected as free speech. $13.8 million dollars was recently won by Mark and Rhonda Lesher in a case against “masked” internet trolls.

And though the Password Protection Act of 2012 is being introduced in order to better ensure your privacy in banning employers from demanding their employees’ Facebook passwords, there is no harm in being a mindful and careful online citizen. So get informed! Learn how to protect yourself, connect with others, publish your work, and work on your professional appearance in a safe and responsible way.

As Uncle Ben once told Spiderman, “with great power comes great responsibility.” No words could be truer in our digital age today.

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Posted in Be Findable, Connect, ConnectUpdates, Employers Dig for Dirt, Got a Job?, Learn, LearnUpdates, Outwit Identity Theft, Protect, Protect Yourself, ProtectUpdates, PublishUpdates, Social Media, Social Networks, Uncategorized, Updates, WorkUpdates

London 2012 O(ffline)lympics

Posted on May 7, 2012 by | 1 Comment

Photo Source: David K.K.

The Olympics are a magical time. Those of us lucky enough to have been in the city during the Vancouver 2010 Olympics know this as fact. There are truly no words to describe this event. But if you’re in London for this year’s Summer Olympics and are hoping to capture a few pictures that say the thousand words you can’t find to account for your experiences, and then share them, say, with your 800 Facebook friends, you may run into some difficulty.

According to this article, the rules for Olympic-goers are pretty clear: There is to be no social sharing of any photos or videos taken at the Games. Yes, that means Facebook/Twitter/Instagram//Flickr/YouTube…even Google+! In other words, what happens in London, stays in London. Or at least, stays off the Internet.

The very bottom of an extensive Ticketholders Terms and Conditions states: “Images, video and sound recordings of the Games taken by a Ticket Holder cannot be used for any purpose other than for private and domestic purposes and a Ticket Holder may not license, broadcast or publish video and/or sound recordings, including on social networking websites and the internet more generally, and may not exploit images, video and/or sound recordings for commercial purposes under any circumstances, whether on the internet or otherwise, or make them available to third parties for commercial purposes.”

And according to this report, security guards have already been trained to deter professional photographers. So yes, they are very serious about this. Which brings up the very obvious question of implementation: other than brash security guards, how exactly are they going to be able to monitor this? History tells us that despite prohibition, prohibited activity never truly ceases. What more, over an uncontrolled medium such as the Internet? And in the free-for-all Internet that we have come to know and love today, is this kind of prohibition a violation of our rights to connect as we please and publish what is ours? Has control over what is posted on the Internet grown beyond our reach?

What do you think? Leave your comments below.

One thing’s for sure, if we lived life according to this popular internet meme, then the London 2012 Summer Olympics would be as existent as the Canucks’ Cup run this year (hey, at least I can make jokes about it now.)

 

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Posted in Connect, ConnectUpdates, Copyright, Creative Commons Licensing, Media Sharing, NewsAndEvents, Protect Yourself, Publish, PublishUpdates, Social Media, Social Networks, The Fine Print, Updates

Justin Bieber: How His Social Media Strategy Ensures His Fame Lasts Longer Than “One Time”

Posted on May 4, 2012 by | Leave a comment

 

Photo Source: Heather Sokol

If you despise (love) Justin Bieber, here’s one more reason to despise (love) him some more: he’s a social media genius.

His new video “Boyfriend” (click to watch!) made its YouTube debut last night and has already surpassed 3 million hits in less than 24 hours.

Bieber first made his way onto the music scene in 2008 in a (then) unlikely way: through discovery on YouTube. One might make the argument that his rise to fame was based solely on tremendous musical ability. Okay, fine. But it would be difficult to argue social media has not played an influential role in helping him maintain his spot as a top dog in the ever growing, ever changing food chain that is the music industry.

At 2:45pm today, Bieber’s twitter boasted 21, 302, 796 followers.  And now, 25min later, that number has grown to 21, 305, 407.  That suggests approximately 104.4 people are following @justinbieber per minute. And Bieber is doing everything right: tweeting actively, responding to  fans, and promoting his new song, which now happens to be the #1 video on iTunes.

The Justin Bieber Facebook page is also very much abuzz with life, with over 42 million likes and plenty of posts, videos and photos. As for his roots, YouTube, Bieber had been posting short videos– sneak peaks of “Boyfriend” leading up to last night’s great reveal. In our digital age, staying relevant and staying connected appear to be almost interchangeable, both of which Bieber and his team seem to have a great handle of. Bieber’s frequent interaction keeps his fans engaged and interested, ensuring he will stay newsworthy for a long time.

Appropriately given the Disruptive Innovator award early last week, Justin Bieber has truly revolutionized the music industry, successfully making a lasting name for himself on the Internet.

Let’s just say this: if he was your boyfriend, it would be all over the Internet. And based on what we know about that–it’d never let you go.

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Posted in Be Findable, Blogs, Connect, ConnectUpdates, Media Sharing, Social Media, Social Networks, Uncategorized, Updates

Steve Dotto discusses our Digital Tattoo project

Posted on May 24, 2011 by | Leave a comment

Steve Dotto produces and hosts the podcast Dotto Tech, a weekly discussion of all things technology related. Last week, he sat down with Trish Rosseel and Cindy Underhill, creators of the Digital Tattoo project, to discuss how everyone – students, professors and teachers, and others – can learn and benefit from the Digital Tattoo website. Steve Dotto perfectly sums up the project: “Everything that we do [on the Internet] is as indelibly linked to us as though we did a physical tattoo. And we should think about it along those lines.”

We all have different styles and comfort levels with online tools and applications. The purpose of the Digital Tattoo project is to raise awareness about the broader implications for how we use these tools. At the same time, it’s not about scaring people or offering black-and-white, right-or-wrong judgements. As Dotto points, this is an important distinction. The online tools themselves are value neutral – neither good, nor bad. It’s all in how we use them. “So bottom lines is,” he says, “the only people who can protect our privacy are ourselves.”

One group mentioned as having a particular interest in Digital Tattoo as of late are teachers and students training to be teachers. As Trish Rosseel points out, for those “who are going to be going out and working with students and are trying to navigate that online relationship between themselves and their students, [especially] when they are still themselves students” a discussion about our Digital Tattoo can be valuable. Dotto points out that in British Columbia, every level of education is having a similar conversation: How do we protect our teachers while recognizing that the online world is far too rich of a place not to be somehow engaged with students.

The complete show is available here, which also includes an interesting discussion of what happens to our digital identities after we die. To just listen to the interview with the Digital Tattoo creators, have a listen here. Do you agree with the discussion? Feel free to post comments and/or questions.

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Posted in Creative Commons Licensing, Learn, Protect, Protect Yourself, Social Media, Work

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Online network education for kids – Doctorow style

Posted on April 4, 2011 by | Leave a comment

Cory Doctorow talks about kids, privacy and social networks

In a recent TEDx presentation, the Canadian blogger and science fiction author, Cory Doctorow, proposes a new type of “network education” for kids online. His views stand in contrast to those suggesting that filtering internet content in an effort to keep kids safe is the way to go. Rather, he argues that filtering content prevents kids from understanding networks and privacy tools on their own – kind of like how feeding ducks in a pond leaves them unprepared to fend for themselves come winter.

Instead, here’s how Doctorow envisions privacy education for kids:

  • Turn to libraries, schools and other institutions to be “islands of networked privacy best practices”
  • Teach kids to encrypt everything they do on the internet
  • Teach them to jailbreak every device that they handle
  • Teach kids to choose the best products for their privacy
  • Teach them to bust every sensor wall that harvests a record of what they look at
  • Teach them to spoof every form they’re asked to fill in
  • Block the RFID tags they carry around with them
  • Figure out how to move through their cities and towns without their locations being recorded by CCTV cameras

Who should be responsible – parents or teachers – for teaching kids about their digital footprints and how should it be done, are important questions. Perhaps, now it’s not a question of who should be responsible but who is willing to take responsibility.

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Posted in Adjust Your Privacy Settings, Blogs, Connect, ConnectUpdates, Control Your Cookies, Cyberdating, Erase Your Digital Path, Learn, LearnUpdates, Outwit Identity Theft, Outwit Pharming, Outwit Phishing, Prevent Cyberbullying, Prevent Cyberstalking, Protect Your Computer, Protect Yourself, ProtectUpdates, Publish, PublishUpdates, Social Media, Social Networks, The Fine Print, Updates, Wireless Safety, WorkUpdates

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The Best Social Media Statistics for 2011

Posted on March 14, 2011 by | Leave a comment

Over at Ragan’s PR daily, Adam Vincenzini has released an interesting collection of social media statistics for this year. Among my favorites:

  • 80% of internet users participate in groups, compared with 56% of non-internet users. Moreover, social media users are even more likely to be active: 82% of social network users and 85% of Twitter users are group participants.

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  • 89% (!) of Japanese Internet users have said they are wary of using their internet names online.

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  • A survey of more than 2,000 mothers over the age of 40 found that a majority have more Facebook friends than their children, and that they know how to better take advantage of their presence on the site.

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  • The Pew Internet and American Life Project found that people 74 and older represent the fastest growing demographic on the sites. Sixteen percent of Internet users in that age group now visit them, compared with four percent in 2008.

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  • Geolocation users are 38% more likely than the average US online adult to say that friends and family ask their opinions before making a purchase decision.

What are your favorites?
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Posted in ConnectUpdates, LearnUpdates, ProtectUpdates, PublishUpdates, Social Media, Social Networks, Updates, WorkUpdates

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