trma585 watkins
DESCRIPTION
Final project for TRMA585 Developing A Professional Online IdentityTRANSCRIPT
TRMA 585 P1: Developing A Professional Online Identity Spring
2012
Lani Watkins
Bachelor of Science in Psychology ’10 University of PhoenixMaster of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling ‘13 George Fox University
Online Identities, Personal Branding, Social Media
This was a new way for me to network with classmates and professionals.
A great method of connecting for those who are introverts, like me.
It’s a valuable asset!
Online Privacy
Having an online presence is like being exposed to the whole world.
As a future therapist I need to be aware of online boundaries and protect my private life as well as my client’s private lives.
Here is a great Privacy Tip Sheet
Twitter #TRMA585I was skeptical towards the professional attributes of Twitter till I started following other professionals. Now I see how incredibly useful it is!
Follow me @LaniWatkins on Twitter
Google Plus (G+)
“What is Google+” video.
Although I do not have a Google+ account yet, I have looked at its many attributes. Being able to group friends separate from family in addition to having greater privacy control, makes Google+ an appealing social media site.
Professional Facebook Pages
Social media can be tricky for a future therapist and Facebook is no exception.
At present, I only have a personal Facebook account and that is set to private; however, it seems there are merits to having a professional Facebook account. Facebook for Therapists
Learning from Mental Health Professionals & Organizations
Social media opens a host of great but potentially harmful opportunities. If a client discloses personal information on a therapist’s site, the therapist could be held liable.
I found Dr. Keely Holmes’ article very informative in reference to this topic.
Clinicians Using Social Media by Dr. Keely Holmes
Blogs: Blogger, WordPress, Tumblr, PosterousI assumed blogging was just an online format for journaling. After reading and exploring a variety of blogs I realized how wrong I was. Blogging is a great device to share information and professional opinions.
These links helped change my mind about blogging: 9 Reasons You Should Blog
How Social Media Will Change Mental Health Care
5 Reasons Why You Should Consider Blogging
Portfolios & profiles
Here is a link to one of my online profiles:
http://about.me/laniwatkins
Managing your online identity
Between Twitter, Facebook, and a plethora of other social media sites, managing the various online identities can be a challenge.
HootSuite is one of many sites that can help me manage my online identity including my future blog!
Websites & domain names
Designing a personal/professional website isn’t as difficult as it use to be.
Registering a domain is also simple as well as affordable!
There are great tools to help boost traffic to your website.
Having an impact
The internet has allowed information to travel around the globe at staggering speeds.
Viral videos is an example of sharing information and having it rapidly spread from one person to another.
Kony2012 is just one such example of the speed of information and how fast viral videos can be.
Goals & strategies
Without a clear strategy to achieve specific goals, a professional can easily get lost in the Social Media world.
Random blogs may be too generalized losing a potential target audience.
As with any marketing device it is important to understand one’s own professional goals and make a clear outline of getting there.
Slideshare
I had never heard of Slideshare before my #TRMA585 class.
Now that I have had a chance to explore this new-to-me site I am excited about the possibilities!
Final thoughts
The TRMA585 class has been extremely informative. There is such a large quantity of information available it is nice to have it condensed in a way that makes it accessible to students and future therapists.
Thank you to Robin Ashford for being a phenomenal instructor!