It’s a wrap! My Personal Experience Living on the Web

Over the lessons, living and working on the web, I have learnt a great deal about digital presence and my opinions have changed. I’m inspired to have a visible digital presence to not only brand myself professionally, but also contribute, share and learn from others online.

A summary of my self-test before the module:

Source: Original graphic done on Adobe Illustrator

My personal visitors and residents mapping process & identity now

Source: Original graphic done on Adobe Illustrator

My initial thoughts
To start, this was a new experience and I initially had my doubts about the lesson structure but after going through the whole process of using Google Hangout, WordPress and research, I’m now an advocate of unlimited participation and open access on the web.

From not having a blog, to having regular blog entries and engaging with others through the comment section; it pushed me out of my comfort zone and enabled me to engage in deeper discussions with others through analytical thinking. Blogging helped me to readily express my opinion and let my voice be heard despite my introverted nature.

A summary of my self-test after the module

Source: Original graphic done on Adobe Illustrator

Managing & evaluating information online
I have learnt how to evaluate information better to aid me in my research for my posts. It was, however, challenging as writing and condensing your thoughts for a word limit can be restrictive. Having a public online presence (Twitter & blog) and interacting on twitter and hangout was also a new experience, as my digital presence is usually non-existent.

Active learning through feedback, working online, and engaging, is effective for me as I learn best by discovering, sharing and learning from other people. However, self-directed learning requires maturity and responsibility with the freedom to learn and share effectively online.

Summary of my learning journey

Source: Original graphic done on Adobe Illustrator

Creating a professional digital profile
Having a professional digital presence to engage and communicate online via blog posts and tweets is important in the workplace. Working habits are constantly changing with the continuous technological advancements resulting in more people working remotely as digital nomads.

The trend follows the rising popularity of remote work in the US. In a public opinion poll conducted by GALLUP, “in 2015, 37% of US employees reported doing some of their work remotely, a jump from 9% in 1995” (M. Jones, 2015).

Source: Telecommuting for Work Climbs, (M. Jones, 2015)

We need to adapt to a digital medium through self-promotion to create an effective network of opportunities. Therefore, to stay relevant, I’ve created a LinkedIn profile for my potential employers and colleagues to stay connected and build my professional network.

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Manage my multiple online identities
After this module; I realized I’d rather have multiple online identities as I’d like to keep my professional and personal lives separated. Before this module, I only had private accounts on social media with no public or professional accounts.

Now I have a private identity for friends & family on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and professional profiles for work using WordPress, Google Docs, LinkedIn, Cargo Collective (portfolio) and Twitter.

My Twitter identity being formed

All my profile pictures across my platforms are up-to-date and slightly varied to maintain an appropriate balance between my personal and professional profiles. I don’t have a fake or non-identifiable photo and I use my English name for clarity.  I manage all my public profiles professionally to keep my multiple identities authentic.

Being up-to-date with my portfolio is also crucial as it allows me to demonstrate and display my current skills to potential clients and showcase my previous work. The design and layout of my portfolio is also important, therefore, my recent works are displayed first followed by older works.

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Building networks & participating online
Following reputable news and marketing sites allows me to stay abreast of the latest happenings. My Twitter and LinkedIn accounts will be used as networking tools for work while my YouTube account provides informative news around the globe. My interest in general knowledge has increased significantly as I find myself actively searching for videos about net neutrality, bots and learning from various TedTalk speakers on pressing issues and topics.

Some of the reputable Twitter accounts & YouTube Channels I follow

Being introduced to blogging has also ignited my passion for writing and sharing my thoughts with a community of likeminded individuals and has made me open to varying opinions. Creating these blog posts taught me to find articles that aided my thoughts and analytical reasoning. I see myself writing more in the future as it’s rather therapeutic, as long as there’s no time constraint!

Creating online content & learning new skills
Another aspect I thoroughly enjoyed and will carry on into the future is the various websites and platforms available to create graphics and videos. I’ve learnt how to use websites like Canva and PowToon to create visuals that will entice the viewer and keep them engaged. I’m keen on improving these skills to create more professional and cohesive visuals in the future.

My takeaway from this module 

Reflection summary done on Canva

Source: Digital Marketing skill for the future (Bradford, 2017) 

Finally, I would like to thank my tutors Lisa, Nicholas and Sarah for imparting their knowledge and wisdom during these past few weeks as I’ve learnt a great deal from this module. Also to whomever is reading this, thank you for your time.

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Links to my digital profile:
Twitter
LinkedIn
Portfolio

References:
M. Jones, 2015. In U.S., Telecommuting for Work Climbs to 37% (online). Retrieved from: http://news.gallup.com/poll/184649/telecommuting-work-climbs.aspx

Bradford, 2017. 7 Important Digital Skills All Marketers Should Master In 2017 (online). Retrieved from: https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurencebradford/2017/01/16/7-important-digital-skills-all-marketers-should-master-in-2017/#11eb220042c1

Identity: Do we know who you are?

When I first started this topic, I considered myself a digital visitor with multiple identities. Having discussed with my colleagues about the issue, I realized that most of them either have a multiple identities with few individuals having singular identity. This has given me more perspective and actual reconsideration on my current digital presence as well.

Source: original content

In Darren’s post, I have learnt that it is important to separate your professional and personal online identities as different communities might clash with one another, leading to conflict among these groups. An example of conflicting opinions that ended with disastrous consequences is posting bigoted comments on Facebook with a single identity.

Source: (Miller, 2017)

As quoted from Shanelle’s post, “each digital identity is an expression of yourself”, it is vital to have a multiple identities as we chose to reveal a different version of ourselves depending on the context.

Julian’s post gave an interesting perspective on his singular identity approach as a digital visitor, as it brings convenience and authenticity to his profile. With a singular identity approach runs a risk of identity fraud and potential account take-over by malicious hackers/bots. It is crucial to take precautionary measures to protect yourself from identity thief.

Source: original creation, information from The Wall Street Journal 

Sahana’s post was insightful as self-promotion and personal branding is essential for future business opportunities. Therefore, sharing your personal accomplishments on online platforms and contributing your knowledge in a community (e.g. Linkedin), will create a well-rounded digital identity for future employers.

Source: original creation, information from Sahana’s Research

Throughout this module, I realized that I find myself leaning towards a digital resident. It is also important (if you chose to have a singular identity) to clear away inappropriate post or photos on various platforms to avoid potential conflict or embarrassment in the future. I want to transition into multiple identities as I am a private person and my privacy is of the utmost importance.

My professional website that needs updating and a creation of a Linkedin profile is in the works

Summary of Online Identities created by me on PowToon

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Comments:
Julian’s Blog
Darren’s Blog

References:
Miller, 2017. ‘Move back to Africa’: Teacher fired for racist Facebook post (online). Retrieved from: https://nypost.com/2017/09/20/move-back-to-africa-teacher-fired-for-racist-facebook-post/

Identity Theft & Credit Card Fraud – How to Protect Yourself, 2017. The Wall Street Journal, How to Protect Yourself (online). Retrieved from: http://guides.wsj.com/personal-finance/credit/how-to-protect-yourself-from-identity-theft/

Information Quality Among Us

Source: made on Canva

My thoughts on information quality have changed during the past few sessions and I have learnt a great deal about fake-news. Whether we are digital natives or visitors, it is crucial for us to be aware of our own filter bubbles. The existence of bots on Social Media could potentially have an impact on influencing public’s perception at a global level.

I agree with Alicia’s post about the creation of fake-news which “ boils down to one’s character to create/distribute wrong information.” An example she mentioned was the Las Vegas Shooting where information was rapidly being shared on Social Media, regardless of it’s factual or satirical nature.

Source: made on Canva, content by (French, 2016)

Although third-party fact-checkers, like Snopes, are available, more can be done towards the removal of fake-news by implementing stricter rules within Networking sites, but could this impact their profitability? Networking sites gain from fake-news as it increases the company’s revenue from page views and advertising.

I can relate towards Nicholas’s post that “it is crucial that we widen our networks and research widely” so that we aren’t stagnant in our own echo chamber. It was also insightful to read about the credibility of influencer’s post on Social Media as digitally-doctored photos can be manipulative and even pose as “evidence” supporting fake-news.

Source: made on Canva, content by (Wan, 2017)

The fake-news ecosystem is growing more political and vastly influential, it was seen that Donald Trump’s campaign manager tweeted links to fake-news, which appeared in the news on Google (Dewey, 2016). Fake-news may have affected the 2016 US Presidential election and this only emphasizes the importance of fact-checking sources.

Source: Paul Horner, owner of the fake-news empire and responsible for the satire news about the 2016 presidential election

As mentioned in Jian Wen’s post, Singapore is also susceptible to fake-news such as the IKEA scam that was circulated around the Internet and instant messaging apps. The intention of this scam is to steal the user’s personal information that could make them vulnerable to identity thief (Surane, 2017).

In conclusion, we can’t identify a malicious bot at first glance as bots are getting more sophisticated and significantly harder to spot (bots hacking into real accounts, humans lending bots their account, etc.) (Brandom, 2017). We can however, start by spreading the awareness of bots, fact-checking the source and being unbiased toward a post through critically analyzing a post, might prevent an unbiased outcome.

Source: original content

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Comments:
Alicia’s Blog
Nicholas’s Blog

References:
French, 2016. This person makes $10,000 a month writing fake news (online). Retrieved from: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/this-person-makes-10000-a-month-writing-fake-news-2016-11-17

Wan, 2017. Many people can’t tell when photos are fake. Can you? (online). Retrieved from: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2017/07/17/many-people-cant-tell-when-photos-are-fake-can-you/?tid=ss_tw&utm_term=.2dc9fcf2a72c

Dewey, 2016. Facebook fake-news writer: ‘I think Donald Trump is in the White House because of me’ (online). Retrieved from: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-intersect/wp/2016/11/17/facebook-fake-news-writer-i-think-donald-trump-is-in-the-white-house-because-of-me/?tid=a_inl&utm_term=.dfae318eb4f7

Surane, 2017. Scammers Are Constructing Fake People to Get Real Credit Cards (online). Retrieved from: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-09-12/scammers-are-constructing-fake-people-to-get-real-credit-cards

Brandom, 2017. How to Spot a Twitter bot (online). Retrieved from: https://www.theverge.com/2017/8/13/16125852/identify-twitter-bot-botometer-spambot-program

Digital Differences: A Millennial’s Perspective

Source: Serpstat

The word “millennial” has become synonymous with the young; labelling us as being self-absorbed individuals. However, despite the negative connotations, it is starting to occur to me how fortunate I am when it comes to digital literacy and the immense impact it has on my daily life.

I have recently learned about the digital difference of people living in developing countries with less internet access due to income and age factors as mentioned in Simon’s post. This not only hinders the older generation’s ability to learn, but could potentially prevent them from accessing factual news sources.

Social Media can be used to spread propaganda and fear within a corrupted country to justify their repressive policies. If people are already struggling with digital literacy, it’s crucial to educate them about sourcing for reliable news beyond just Social Media (e.g. reading beyond the headline, fact-checking the story, etc.) (Haskins, 2017).

Source: Jon Tyson

I feel that the government’s take on fake news is a thorny subject. If the government outlaws fake news, it would be censorship that could possibly invoke a sense of distrust even towards real news.

An interesting revelation I had with Siew Min’s post made me go in-depth into the digital gender divide that is prevalent in rural countries. Women in these countries (Uganda and Kenya) face inequality when it comes to education. They are also nearly 50% less likely to access the Internet than men in the same communities, this excludes online sexual harassment towards women with digital literacy (Women’s Rights: Translating Access into Empowerment, 2015).

I fear that inequality for Web access puts women in a complete disadvantage compared to people in first-world countries. It highlights the growing disparity of educational opportunities that exists in society. The rights to Internet access should not be a privilege and should benefit everyone regardless of gender.

Source: Original Infographic Content (Data information extracted from Digging into Data on the Gender Digital Divide)

 

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References:
Haskins, 2017. Fake News: What laws are designed to protect (online). Retrieved from: https://www.legalzoom.com/articles/fake-news-what-laws-are-designed-to-protect

Women’s Rights: Translating Access into Empowerment, 2015. Global Report 2015: World Wide Web Foundation. Women’s Rights: Translating Access into Empowerment (online). Retrieved from: http://webfoundation.org/docs/2015/10/womens-rights-online21102015.pdf

Comments:
Simon’s Blog
Siew Min’s Blog