Why University students need LinkedIn

By Kathleen Kalk on February 11, 2014 | Tagged with

It can often feel like social media and other online start ups are constantly begging for the attention of young adults. Mobile apps like “Draw Something” have atmospheric rises only to become passe in a few short months. With all of these different applications and networks vying for space in your smart phone, why should you as a university student worry about yet another social network?

Chances are you have heard about LinkedIn. Perhaps a professor insisted you create an account for class or created a profile in order to view where your friends worked over summer vacation. LinkedIn is a great-grandfather in social media years. The company was launched on May 5th, 2003 before dawn of Facebook or Twitter. The site quickly found it’s niche in professional connections and user numbers skyrocketed. There are currently over 260 million LinkedIn users from all over the world. LinkedIn connects professional networks by allowing users to maintain an active resume, post or apply for jobs and to follow different companies users my be interested in.

Why should university (and even high school) students maintain an active LinkedIn profile? Even if you aren’t currently looking for a job, LinkedIn provides you as a student a free and easy to use platform to share your current resume. A well written resume presents a positive perspective of your school, work and extracurricular activities. It’s impossible to oversell yourself on a resume, just stick to the truth and don’t be afraid to show off.

LinkedIn also has a high Google page rank. This decides the order of results after a Google search. A Google page rank takes many different factors into account, one of which is the number of times other pages link back to the page being indexed. A higher Google page rank means that when someone searches for your name chances are that your LinkedIn resume will be one of the top results. Having control over what information appears when your name is being Googled helps you create a positive online identity. What would you rather have ranked first for all to see, your work and volunteer history or that tweet you composed at 2 am?

It’s important to keep your resume up to date. Just as recently updated resume can create a positive digital identity, a poorly maintained LinkedIn profile can look worse to a potential employer than none at all. LinkedIn also has a simple one click resume creation function so when do begin your job search, you don’t start at square one. After you take the time to create a complimentary portrayal of yourself to share with the world, take a well deserved mental break and play a game of DropIn, LinkedIn’s Tetris based JavaScript game where you play using the faces of your connections. Who said networking can’t be fun?

Do you have an active LinkedIn profile? Why would or wouldn’t you choose to create one? Leave your answer in the comments below.

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Terms and Conditions

By Kathleen Kalk on February 3, 2014 | Tagged with

In the era of ubiquitous smartphones, most of us acknowledge that our data is being tracked. A recent survey by Consumer Action reveals that 81% of individuals know that they can be specifically tied to and tracked by a device. The majority of mobile phone users know that their data is being collected but few users know how or if this data is being used. In fact, the survey reveal that half of all consumers believe it is illegal to to be tracked online without their permission.

This belief is misguided as there is no legislation in Canada or the United States which requires user permission for online tracking. The California Online Privacy Protection Act, is making great strides. The Act requires “any operator of a commercial website or online service that collects consumers’ personal information through the Internet to post a privacy policy“. Many argue that this act doesn’t go far enough, if the commercial website posts a privacy policy or a “terms and conditions” it is perfectly legal to collect user data.

What are these terms and conditions and how do they affect what we do online? They are the guidelines of use for the site. They lay out what you are allowed to do as a consumer and what the creator of the site can do with your data in return. Often users don’t even see the terms and conditions as they are applied when you use the site. Even if the terms and conditions do pop up on the users screen they are very rarely read.

These terms and conditions imply that the user agrees with what the site will do with your personal information, while in fact the vast majority of users don’t even know what they agreed to. If this shocks you, you are not alone. Director Cullen Hoback writes in The Guardian; “Everything in our digital lives now comes with this legally binding contract, a contract designed to take away fundamental rights. And with 30 or more pages of undecipherable legalese at many sites, how is anyone supposed to understand the nature of the trade for digital services?”

Hoback decided to voice his concerns about the online contracts by directing the documentary “Terms and Conditions”. The documentary goes far beyond Facebook to uncover the variety of ways we are being tracked in our everyday lives.

If you are interested in learning more about the contracts that control our personal data watch the trailer below and then come to our free screening of “Terms and Conditions”.

FREE SHOWING

Terms and Conditions

Lillooet Room, 3rd Floor IKBLC

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Campus Confessions: What do you have to say?

By Marga Heras on January 20, 2014 | Tagged with

“Each time the barista at the Starbucks in the SUB asks for a name to put on my drink, I respond with a different, ethnically improbable name, even though I get the same drink at the same time every day.” – #1384

This is one of over 1,300 posts on UBC Confessions, the Facebook page where UBC students are spilling their guts about their latest crushes, Translink contentions, lustful run-ins and other amusing campus antics. Confessions pages are among the more recent social media trends amongst high school and university students, with pages for almost every major university in the world popping up online. Confessions pages are reminiscent of the PostSecret Project and Craigslist’s missed connections page, as they serve as an outlet for individuals to anonymously share personal truths and messages that they wouldn’t normally share with others. The main difference is that confessions pages are specific to certain schools or institutions, such as the UBC Confessions page, which chronicles submissions from UBC students and campus affiliates exclusively.

UBC Confessions2 Though the majority of content on confessions pages tends to be innocent quips and stories about amusing campus escapades, these pages have been criticized as a severe breach of privacy and a potential platform for cyber bullying. Typically, confessions pages are structured so that submissions are sent to page administrators using a Google Form, which allows confessors to send in messages completely anonymously, without having to provide any identifying information, such as their Facebook accounts or email addresses. The administrator then reviews the anonymous submissions and manually posts content to his or her respective page. Though confession pages are tied to specific institutions and schools, they are shared publicly on Facebook so that anyone with a Facebook account has the ability to read, ‘like’, and comment on the posts.

The UBC Confessions administrator has been careful not to share any derogatory or targeted messages to the Facebook page. UBC’s page operates a little differently from most as it does not utilize a third party form or survey to ensure anonymity, rather, it receives submissions through direct Facebook messages, allowing the administrator to see the Facebook profiles of each confessor. The mystery admin has ensured posters that their identities will remain anonymous online, but sent out a disclaimer last month that he or she will be reporting all posts regarding self-harm and suicide to the UBC Mental Health Network who will decide upon appropriate action.

It seems that the direction of confessions pages is largely determined by the page administrator. It is up to this individual to carefully review the posts and use their best judgement in determining whether or not the submission should be shared online. In my opinion, UBC Confessions is an excellence source of comic relief, entertainment, and community building; it provides students with the ability to share their experiences with UBC students, and to laugh, vent, cry, and nod along to community confessions that hit close to home.

Have you ever submitted a post or comment to a Confessions page? Why or why not? Do you think that these sites promote community or are a platform for bullying?

Share your thoughts in the comments below!

Online Harassment of Women – The new normal

By Kathleen Kalk on January 13, 2014 | Tagged with

Blogging is a valuable aspect of many peoples careers. Lawyers, librarians, teachers and students wanting to expand their positive online footprint, should create a blog in order to contribute to their chosen profession. Blogging might be most essential within the field of journalism. The internet is the greatest tool to quickly broadcast your information around the world. Many young journalists seek to make their name by writing online.

One of the positive aspects of blogging is sharing your ideas with the surrounding community. The ability to comment on blogs opens up debate which can expand the minds of both the author and the reader. Sadly the internet standard of free speech sometimes backfires. Internet trolls believe in their rights to free speech supersede the rights of the author to encourage rational debate. Female bloggers have an extra difficult time with trolls, as the hate they spew tends to be more violent in nature.

The Pacific Standard published a piece by journalist Amanda Hess about the nature of threats women bloggers regularly receive on the internet. After receiving a string of very personal tweets that promised to kill her, Ms. Hess phoned the police only to be asked “what is Twitter” by the officer taking the report. The distant nature of the internet can cause threats to seem like they shouldn’t bother the recipient as attacks are probably not going to happen. Instead of internet threats coming off as meaningless they are personal and intimate. Texts and tweets are received by the victim while they are in their private homes. Amanda Hess describes twitter as,“It sits in my back pocket wherever I go and lies next to me when I fall asleep”. As with cyberbullying, online trolling affects the victim around the clock and they can not escape it.

While women and men use the internet in equal percentages,72.5% of harassing incidents are reported by women. In Canada, there is no specific Cyberstalking legislation. Even if no physical harm comes of online harassment the emotional toll is heavy. Online harassment also extracts an financial toll on its victims. People who experience online harassment spend countless hours recording the threats in case they need to take legal action.

Anonymous online threats are largely ignored by law enforcement. The difficulty lies not in tracking down the perpetrator but in defining the threats as a crime. Worst of all these threats and stalkers scare and intimidate women out of maintaining a blog, an act necessary for professional development in many different fields.

I personally have experienced online threats. After writing a travel blog about my study aboard, I started to receive anonymous comments in which the user threatened me and called me vile names. While I continue to blog, those few comments were enough to get me to reconsider my blog entirely.

Have you experienced online threats or harassment? Do you think that Canada should add Cyberstalking legislation like the United Kingdom? Share your stories in the comments below.

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Tinder: The Student Experience

By Marga Heras on December 10, 2013 | Tagged with

Recently, the Digital Tattoo Project team reviewed online dating and Tinder, the popular mobile dating app that has taken thousands of singles (and their smart phones) by storm. To find out a little bit more about Tinder and what makes the app so popular, particularly among young singles, we interviewed 4 UBC students on their personal experiences with this fiery app. Though the panel chose to remain anonymous, their sex and ages are displayed below. Here’s what they had to say:

M: 21, female

C: 22, male

J: 23, female

D: 22, male

Why did you decide to download Tinder?

M: All of my friends went on it over the summer. I held out for a bit, but just decided to give it a shot. It was pretty entertaining over the summer.

C: I was bored and it sounded like a good time.

J: Honestly, as a joke at first. I wanted to see who was on there that I knew.

D: The Vancouver dating scene is pretty abysmal.

Had you ever used any other digital dating platforms before (Ex. online dating websites, other mobile apps, etc.)?

M: No.

C: No.

J: I was on Plenty of Fish for a couple of months, but wasn’t that active on it. I didn’t really like it.

D: My friends signed me up for some Lava Life and Christian Mingle… but that was mostly a joke.

What makes Tinder different from online dating or other dating apps?

M: I had at least a couple mutual friends with most of the guys on there, so it wasn’t completely random and didn’t feel as forced as online dating. It was more like meeting someone through social media – you already know who their friends are and what they’re probably going to be like.

C: It’s quick and easy, and it doesn’t require a lot of commitment since you sign up through Facebook.

J: You can only talk to people if you both like each other, so there’s guaranteed mutual interest right off the bat. With online dating, you get a lot of creeps and unwanted messages, but on Tinder you can control who can talk to you.

D: There’s no pressure really. You can talk to someone if you want to, and since you set your ages and location preference, most people end up being from UBC and having mutual friends with you.

Have you ever gone on a date with someone you met on Tinder?

M: Yes, a couple times.

C: I’ve gone on a bunch, but mostly just for a beer or coffee. Nothing too intense.

J: Yeah, a couple times.

D: Yeah, quite a lot actually.

Were you ever concerned about your privacy when using Tinder?

M: Not really. But I was mainly just worried that [Tinder] might post things on my Facebook page, but that never happened.

C: No. Your profile only shows your first name and initial, plus a couple of photos. It’s up to you what you tell people after that.

J: I thought it was weird how the people would always know how far away you were from them, even if you hadn’t liked them yet. But I was never really concerned about privacy since the location provider was really vague.

D: No because profiles on Tinder are so limited – you don’t really know enough about the person for it to be creepy.

Would you recommend this app to your friends? Why or why not?

M: I would recommend it to my friends, but not for finding someone to date. People on there aren’t looking for someone to date.

C: Definitely. Regardless of what other people say, it’s harmless and really entertaining. You’re in control of who you talk to and what kind of experience you have on there, so it works for everyone.

J: Yes, I would recommend it to my friends. It was pretty fun and funny talking to other people, especially people who you kind of know through friends, but not well enough to talk to them without being prompted by something like Tinder.

D: For sure. I talked to a bunch of cool people on Tinder

Do you still use Tinder today? Why or why not?

M: No, I deleted it a couple months ago. It was fun for a while, but it wasn’t for me.

C: Yes, but not as much as over the summer. It’s definitely died down a bit since then.

J: I still have it, but hardly use it any more. I’m contemplating deleting it.

D: I still use it sometimes, but not as much. It’s still fun, but I feel like the novelty is kind of wearing off.

Have you or your friends ever tried using Tinder? What about other online or mobile dating platforms? Were you ever concerned with your privacy? Why or why not?

Share your thoughts in the comments below!

From Tacos to Amazon, Your Personal Robot Butler

By Kathleen Kalk on December 3, 2013 | Tagged with

Recently Amazon announced it’s plans to begin delivering purchases with a flying unmanned robot. In the last few years information about drones has been negative, borderline apocalyptic. No one likes the idea of being spied on from above. Unless that drone above isn’t spying for Big Brother and instead just wants to deliver you delicious Tacos.

The TacoCopter was founded in Spring 2012, looking to air drop precious Mexican food from on high. Since then other companies have used drone delivery as a promotional tool including Dominoes and a music festival in South Africa delivering ice cold beer. Amazon however, says that this is not a stunt but instead a real part of the companies five year plan. The potential start date when the drones begin to deliver your Harry Potter boxed set is 2015 however, there are many issues amazon has to settle before then. Issues of safety, theft and legality are being discussed in the media. The discussion has been centered around Amazon and how this will affect them as a company. The other questions is, how will this impact you as an consumer and will delivery robots alter your person identity?

Online shopping continues to hold a threat of identity theft. The robot carrier increases risk of not just the physical object being stolen but the shoppers personal information. As an Amazon user myself, the company already knows the location of my last few places of residence and tracks my purchases with more gusto than any of my personal attempts at bookkeeping.

Personal privacy is just one of the potential problems with Amazon robot delivery. The Telegraph lists night different ways it could go wrong including falling packages, theft, poor weather and hacking. It’s all too easy to have your laptop hacked over an open wi-fi connection, hacking Amazon packages would be child’s play for a malicious individual. While many in the tech industry think robot delivery is yet another marketing scam, it is important to understand that such technology exists and could be mainstream in just a few years.

What do you think about Amazon Prime drone delivery? Is it just a PR stunt or the wave of the future? Join the conversation in the comments below.

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Digital Dating: The way of the future?

By Marga Heras on November 26, 2013 | Tagged with

Are you single? Ready to mingle? Tired of searching for Mr. Right (or Mr. Right Now) with depressing results?

Well, why not try digital dating. From the convenience of your laptop or smart phone, you can let cyber cupid take the wheel and join the millions of individuals that currently use dating websites and apps to mix and mingle with other singles.

Now I know what you might be thinking,“Digital dating? I’m not thaaat desperate…”

Not so fast! Though dating online used to be viewed as a last resort by many, the Pew Internet & American Life Project suggests that over time people are starting to view digital dating in a more positive light. In their 2013 study, Pew Research surveyed over 2,200 Americans regarding their perceptions and experiences with online and mobile dating. The 2013 results revealed that 59% of Internet users think that “online dating is a good way to meet people,” a 15-point increase from their original study in 2005. What’s more, 53% of users agree that dating online or through a mobile app allows for better matches, and only 21% of people agreed with the statement that “people who use online dating sites are desperate.” With time, it seems that digital dating has shed its stigma as a refuge for the old and desperate, and has become a more accepted, and even preferred, form of dating for many of today’s singles. So, why not give it a shot?

In our latest installment of the Think Before You Ink video series, the Digital Tattoo Project team provides you an brief overview on the world of digital dating, highlighting one of the most popular dating apps, Tinder. Take a look!

In a technology-driven world, why do you think people are afraid of digital dating? Have you tried your luck with dating online or through your mobile device? Discuss in the comments below.

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Lulu, a flipped experience or more of the same?

By Kathleen Kalk on November 21, 2013 | Tagged with

The internet can be an unfriendly place for young single women. Sites where women are ranked on their physical attractiveness have been around since “Hot or Not’ was founded in 2000. “Hot or Not” was designed for strangers online to judge the attractiveness of other men and women. Mark Zuckerberg was inspired by hot or not to create his own spinoff, FaceMash. This would eventually become modern Facebook.

Facemash as portrayed n The Social Network.

These rating sites were based on looks alone yet, in a world where nearly 40% of single Americans are looking for love online people want to learn as much as they can about this new people before meeting for a drink. Good looks are nice but as the saying goes, beauty is only skin deep. Meeting people online takes away the safety net of asking what your friend of a friend thinks about this stranger. Women are also becoming aware of how much they have to lose when they meet a stranger online. With revenge porn becoming increasingly common online and the ever present risk of violence, women need to know what they might be getting themselves and their online identity into.

Enter Lulu. Founded by London School of Economics grad Alexandra Chong, Lulu describes itself as a “sort of “Take Back the Internet” moment for young women who have come of age in an era of revenge porn and anonymous, possibly ominous suitors”. The site allows women to connect through their Facebook account and comment on men. The photos and names of men are drawn from their female internet friends. The comments take the form of hastags and include both positive and negative judgements. Example hashtags include:#neversleepsover, #epicsmile, #questionablesearchhistory and #smellsamazeballs. The hashtaged comments are then compiled into a score between one and ten by Lulu. In the competitive world of online dating, your Lulu score can be much more important than say, a well rounded LinkedIn profile.

My personal experience with Lulu was quite late to the party after I read the profile of company on the New York Times. Originally the idea repulsed me as I clearly remember Hot or Not and the depression my friends would experience when they received low scores. Imagine my surprise when I connected with Lulu and didn’t find a single man ranked below a 6. The majority of comments are positive with #supersmart and #momloveshim, as stand out examples. Perhaps the internet has finally listened to that old adage, “if you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all.”

What do you think of Lulu? A valuable tool for women to even the online playing field or just another form of online bullying? Join the discussion in the comments below.

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Google Me

By Kathleen Kalk on November 7, 2013 | Tagged with

If you read Digital Tattoos blog it should come as no shock that employers regularly Google job candidates before deciding who to hire. Naturally you want to avoid having negative information appear in search results however, having no footprint at all can have a negative impact as it looks like you have “something to hide”. Creating a positive online identity can seem daunting at first. After all, it takes vigilance to correctly use the privacy functions on social media why work to intentionally create a footprint. There are a few reasons why you may wish to create a positive social media footprint. Perhaps you have a not so positive part of your life that was aired online that you wish to move to the second page of links or perhaps you have no footprint at all and you wish to show off the best parts of your resume. Either way working to create a positive online identity is equal parts proactive and protective. In the spirit of a new school year, we here at Digital Tattoo want to share three quick and easy suggestions to beef up your positive online footprint.

1- LinkedIn

Everyone should have an professional up to date LinkedIn profile. Think of it as a free way to show off your resume an additional time. Thanks to Google search algorithm of ranking pages by other pages which link to them, LinkedIn often is the first or second hit on a Google search of an employee. LinkedIn is the new standard for job searchers and employers.

2- A Personal webpage

Making a personal webpage is a great boon to job seekers as it shows off both your technical and professional skills. Organizations like Reclaim Hosting work to give free personal domain names to student to help them take control of their digital brand. But what if you don’t know how to code? What if you want to build a positive online presence as quick as possible? If time is of the essence you aren’t out of luck! There are many websites that help you build a personal page in a few clicks. One of the best examples of this is Vizify.com. Vizify helps you build a graphic representation of your presence online which you can tweak to include your choice of social networks. You can even chose to make cute mini-infographics about yourself.

Want to see an example of Visify? Click here to see mine.

3- Coursework

As you complete your degree your coursework will leave a mark on the internet. Prezis, wikis, class blogs and conference attendance can all be tracked online. When interacting with your classmates and professors use a consistent version of your full name. These products will often show up in a Google search and will flesh out your resume with work samples. When you use a consistent name, all work you create will be added to your online portfolio.

After University, when most of us step out into the “real world” for the first time, it’s easy to pretend like you have a blank slate. Employers know better any will Google you in an attempt to learn about your history in work and school. Why not put your best foot forward by displaying your academic course work in the best possible light?

How do you cultivate your digital identity online? Do you feel that you need to?

Geotagging: What are your photos saying about you?

By Marga Heras on October 8, 2013 | Tagged with

“A picture is worth a thousand words.”

We’ve all heard this saying before, but in a world where everyone aged nine to ninety is equipped with a smart phone and social media account (or five), this age-old phrase takes on a much more literal meaning.

Nowadays, GPS satellite technology is embedded into so many of our devices for location purposes that we tend to overlook the role it plays in our daily lives. For instance, every time you use Google maps for directions, “check-in” to that hip new bar on Facebook, or troll Tinder to find hotties within a 5km radius, location tracking is at work.

One popular use of GPS technology is geotagging, which is the process of attaching location and time information to media, such as photos and videos. Geotagging your photos allows you to show your friends and family what you’ve been up to and is an excellent way to share experiences with your community, such as trying out a new restaurant or visiting a local attraction. This feature helps people find a variety of location-specific information with ease, and allows media platforms to become much more social and interactive for its users.

Today, almost everyone who uses smart phones, cameras, or any form of social media, is most likely utilizing geotagging technology – whether they realize it or not. Media taken with most location aware devices are tagged with geodata by default, and the data remains attached to those files if you text, email or share them almost anywhere online. According to Larry Pesce and Ben Jackson, creators of icanstalku.com, inadvertent geodata sharing poses potential risks as individuals often “share too much information about their location, right down to the exact Latitude and Longitude.”

stalking

The reality is that with the right technology, any random person can extract date, time, and location-specific information from media that you share publicly, and this information can potentially be used to commit crimes against you. For instance, cyber criminals could find out where you live and determine the best time to break into your house by viewing tagged photos from your home and current vacation spot – yikes!

Although geotagging can be a fun component of media, it is always important to remain vigilant about your personal security. If you choose to use this feature, make sure the images you actively geotag are uploaded in a secure manner and think critically about whether the geodata of your photos can be used against you in any way. We also suggest that you double check the location and privacy settings on your smart phone and smartphone apps in order to ensure your desired privacy. To find out how you can alter location settings on your iPhone, Android, or Blackberry, click here for more information.

Are you aware of geotagging on your smart phone? Is geotagging scary big brother or a fun addition to social media?

We want to hear what you think in the comments below!

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