The Negative Impacts of Your Digital Footprint

          
        Where are you most likely to be every Thursday at 6pm? You might just be surprised at how fast a selfie can give away your location. Last Wednesday night Professor Calderwood introduced to us an app called Ready or Not, which shows you how somebody can find your physical location using your posts on social media. I never knew the importance of privacy settings until that day. It's scary how much hidden information your device can exchange with different apps and websites. A word of advice: TURN OFF YOUR LOCATION! Whether you are intentionally posting your whereabouts or not, data and information is attached to your posts and can easily be traced. It doesn't always take a mastermind to piece together bits of information that you've shared with the world to find your location. This trail left on the internet by anything with your name on it is called your Digital Footprint. This was all news to me, but it did not take long for me to learn how easily it can be managed.    
           11 Tips for Students To Mange Their Digital Footprints by Justin Boyle briefly defines digital footprint, what it consists of, and some easy ways to mange your privacy. This article suggests the use of the privacy settings. That is a very important step toward managing your digital footprint, just as Professor Calderwood also mentioned. Also, keep a list of accounts and delete the ones you are not using. I'm sure many of us still have our MySpace accounts that we have forgotten all about. It is also not a good idea to link different accounts to one another granting them access to other information. There has been many times where I have signed into a new app using my Facebook account. Again, not a good idea. This article provided many other helpful tips and even extreme measures you can take in order to manage your digital footprint. They are some of the best ways to protect your privacy and your future.
          Yes I said future. I would highly suggest all students watch this video on how young professionals can be effected by their Digital Baggage. I'm sure all students or any young adult, including myself, have that one dream job. The job that we have all spent 4+ years in school slaving for. It is crazy to think that even with a degree, the opportunity can be lost over those one or two drunk posts that may be degrading to our character. In this video in particular, while the young man is being interviewed the employer sees that his answers contradict the behavior he displays on Facebook, and it costs him the job. Another interesting article, 12 things students should never do on social media, explain ways to avoid this situation. This article pinpoints 12 social media mistakes that can potentially ruin your education and impact your career. Posting illegal activities, objectionable content from school computers, confidential information, and threatening violence are examples of unprofessional social media conduct. Students should also avoid slandering their teachers on social media or posting embarrassing photos of them."You never know which one of your professors will hold the keys to the next great internship or job announcement". The same goes for institutions or persons of authority in general, not just teachers.  Both articles contain extremely relevant information, not only for student, but for any person looking to expand the quality of their PLN.
    We were able to speak with Cameron Brenchley, who is the Vice President at Collaborative Communications Group, as I mentioned in my last blog. He discussed the advantages of LinkedIn for business and professional purposes. LinkedIn is a business-oriented networking service that is used to build your professional identity. He made this suggestion for any person looking to connect with professionals and discover business opportunities. I was actually required to make a LinkedIn account my freshman year of college, so I was able to appreciate Cameron's advice. Even looking at his LinkedIn account I was able to gain information about his profession and occupational history, which was a great example to learn from. I was impressed with his field of work, as well as his skills and experience. It was a pleasure hearing from him.
           Chapter 1 of Untangling the Web by Steve Dembo and Adam Bellow focuses on what is called curation tools. These tools are used to strategically share information through communication channels. The chapter lists three of these technology tools: Symbaloo, Diigo, and eduClipper. These are all tools that both students and teachers can use to share, collect, and organize information. You can bookmark and tag webpages straight from your mobile device. I am looking to incorporate these tools in my attempt to expand the quality of my PLN.