Managing yourprofessional identity
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•How you are seen by your colleagues
•How you are seen by your peers
•How you are seen by the general public
Traditional identity
http://www.flickr.com/photos/worldeconomicforum/2214630924/
• By your conduct• By the things you say• By the things others say
about you• By what you write• By the way you write it
• Through… face to face, papers, peer review, presentations…
How is that gauged?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mag3737/1997114236/
Professional and personal have
fused together thanks to…
Social networking particularly has changed the way we interact…
•Your friends; who they are / what they do
•Your personal life / interests
Identity now extends to…
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dan_dan/279764886/
A window into your private life
(But it isn’t always a bad thing!)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/fuenteshe/382870861/sizes/o/
What you say…
How you say it…
“It aint what you do it’s the way that you do it”
• Current employers
• Prospective employers
• Students
• Colleagues
• Peers
Consider who might look you up
http://www.flickr.com/photos/schoey/2129866868/
Consider this…
Choose your friends wiselyhttp://www.flickr.com/photos/cerpntaxt/42348941/
You are Bob Smith…• You sign up to social
networking site• You add your colleagues• You also add your friend• You keep it professional /
managed• Your friend finds a pic he
took a couple of years ago and adds it to his page tagging it “Bob Smith – night to remember…”
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bre/532019377/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/st-stev/2174536378/sizes/l/
• DO lock down your profile if you’re not comfortable exposing your private life
• DO choose your friends carefully• If you wish you can:
– lock down your photos– and your wall
Social Networking
http://www.flickr.com/photos/holster/195031415/
• Blogging: Using the blog to ‘vent’ against employers/colleagues can go against you
• Twittering: Builds a picture of your life (in and outside work)
Getting lost in informality…
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ricoslounge/38351363/
• Consider what you say
• Be aware what othersmay publish
• Understand Data Protection
http://www.flickr.com/photos/11382496@N03/2207621281/
Know your rights…
Consider…
What you say; on comments, blog posts, forums,
personal websites, social networks
How much information you make publicly
available; check privacy policies on sites
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ppdigital/2054207285/
• HUGE benefits to all these tools
• Can be used in a positive way
• This culture shift isn’t such a bad thing
• But BE CAUTIOUS
• We all use them
• We just choose what we’re comfortable exposing… and how we wish to present ourselves
Any questions?
The Web SessionsDelivered by Web Services, University of Bath