Facebook for Educators: Should it be banned?

Image Credit – Meera Sapra
http://lifesacomicstrip.blogspot.ca/

It’s official – the paper resume and cold call have gone the way of the dinosaur.  Linkedin, which once seemed cutting edge, now represents the basic standard of professional networking.  Marketing yourself in the job market has become much easier with the rise simple content creation tools and Web 2.0. The tricky part is standing out in the endless barrage of content.  How do you standout in a ocean containing 40% of the globes population?

The answer is that you no longer just have to sell yourself to a particular job but instead selling yourself to the entire online world.  This is often called personal branding. Wikipedia defines personal branding as “the process whereby people and their careers are marked as brand” but could also be defined as shameless self promotion. Personal branding is more than having your work turn up when your name is searched, it is also making sure that your name pops up when the area of your expertise is searched. Personal branding can expand beyond the internet with social media gurus recommending dressing in a trademark manner at professional events. Think Steve Jobs distinctive black turtleneck.

It might appear at first glance that personal branding is nothing more than a passing fad that only applies to those interested in marketing. Nothing could be further from the truth. While the marketing industry was among the first to embrace personal branding, it applies to anyone hoping to define themselves in a field.

Students and young professionals struggle with personal branding for two reasons. The first is their extended trail on social media. This trail isn’t necessarily a bad thing however, it waters down your personal brand. If your blog shares a name with your Instagram account and they aren’t connected by content, the message the users wanted to find is more difficult to find and perhaps lost.

Another issue young  people have with personal branding is finding their niche. It’s all well and fine for an established professional to brand themselves as a Health Guru or a  Circus Photographer yet a undergrad student may have not yet declared a major.  How can young people define their personal brand while still figuring out their course of study? We at Digital Tattoo have put together three quick tips on how to build a flexible personal brand.

One –  Create something positive. Whether it’s a blog of poems or a flickr account without selfies, positive online content is a great way to show off what you can create.

Two –  Join a online community. This is a great way to flaunt your tech skills and ability to work within a group. It could be as simple as an online book club or as complex as driving into coding puzzles at GitHub, the important key is it shows off your ability to contribute and collaborate.

Three-  Start something. Either virtually or in the real world, creating a movement shows that you are willing to take risks and go above and beyond in your creative vision.  Think- What are your passions? What do you wish existed in your school or hometown?

Following these three steps will build up your personal brand, then you can figure our your snazzy title.

What are you doing to craft your personal brand?

Image from BBC Weather and Twitter

Phishing is the act of using a fake and malicious link to lure the user into giving away private account information to a hacker. Often the user doesn’t even need to send their password to the hacker,  with a dangerous link in a tweet or email users can give up account passwords in just one click.

Basic phishing schemes are becoming more difficult for hackers as more websites add a two factor log in system. Gmail and Amazon both ofter the more secure system.  As the two factor log in system becomes the industry norm, it is even more surprising that the social networking site Twitter continues to use the single password system.   While industry sources are pointing in the direction of more complex security, twitter has yet to commit to changes in their current password system.

Twitter has been in the headlines recently for the large number of hacks a group calling themselves the Syrian Electronic Army has been committing on news agencies twitter accounts. One recent example was the group hacked the British newspaper The Telegraph. The hacked accounts were controlled through the Twitter website and proxy servers. The hacker then assumed the online identity of the twitter account holder and used the personal branding that they have cultivated against them. When the  Syrian Electronic Army hacks a Twitter account often its agenda makes the hack immediately clear.  Yet this is not always the case. When the AP News Twitter account was hacked and broadcasted false information about an attack at the White House, the Stock Market took a steep dive in what Forbes called “the priciest tweet in the world”. Twitter has become a mainstream media outlet and therefore hacking a well respected Twitter account can cause the same shock waves as legitimate breaking news.

Do the recent hacks cast Twitters credibility into question? Do you use social media as a news source? Why or why not?

The mobile app Snapchat continues its atmospheric rise in popularity. As of April, 150 million “snaps’ were sent daily.  The majority of these snaps are little more than silly expressions, breakfast shots or fashion critiques. The success of Snapchat is built on the idea of sending trivial photo messages to friends without leaving a trace. Consequently the continued attempts by the tech community to reconstruct erased images are worrisome to more than those who have used Snapchat for sexting.

A forensic computing company in Utah has cracked the code on finding and reopening received snaps. The images remain saved in the phone and are saved with a .nomedia file name. This extension can be ignored using downloadable forensic tools and image can be reopened.

Currently Decipher Forensics can only discover snaps that have been sent to Android phones but they are working on developing a similar solution for IOS. Social networks like Facebook and Twitter are created to share information with as many people as you have on your network. Snapchat markets it’s self on more personal one to one sharing. While your snaps certainly have more privacy than your status updates, this discovery proves once again that nothing on the internet is private and anytime you trust a third party with your information you risk losing control over it.

Shane Dingman wrote about this discovery in the Globe and Mail using language which was nothing less than hyperbolic. For example the scenario of “Snaps detailing a criminal conspiracy, and[then] that device fell into the hands of the police”, might not be the main user demographic of Snapchat. Nevertheless, Snapchat isn’t a fail proof system. So go ahead, keep sending those quirky up the nose shots but think twice before sending anything that could harm your digital identity.

Do you use Snapchat? Are you concerned about the privacy of your photos?

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!