Based on your reading of three (3) of the above readings on issues related to online identity, privacy and/or trust. Think about online identity in relation to both individuals and organisations:
- what is important in terms of how we present and manage those identities online?
- what can we share and what should we retain as private to the online world?
Post a 350 word summary of important issues around online identity to your learning journal.
Mixing personal and professional online identities, organisational policies, and inappropriate friend requests
To have an effective online presence, it’s important to think before posting – think about your purpose in having an online identity, establish clear boundaries around what this means both personally and professionally and don’t mix the two. There are clear implications for ignoring this as seen through various examples including the James Andrews tweet (Henderson, 2009) which at best might be solved with an apology, or at worst lead to litigation. Inasmuch as we can think through these issues ourselves, we can’t expect that others will do likewise, or that an organisation’s policies around social media will always be clear cut. This is highlighted by Harris (2010) in her discussion of friending students and the grey areas of policy, so in the end it’s up to each individual to take that responsibility.
Posts are public and permanent
Davis (2009) describes how easy it is to track mentions of your online presence using a number of readily available tools, but this can work two ways, if you can find mentions of you easily others can too. In an earlier blog post, Davis further discusses this issue, urging readers to think about the future implications of information posted on the web, and to consider if “you’re just leaving more junk for the next generation to clean up” (2009). Clearly, it’s important to only post what you are comfortable sharing, and be aware that it may come back to haunt you later. In terms of privacy this means that if you wouldn’t say something in public don’t say it on the web.
Social media isn’t perfect in safeguarding privacy
By establishing an online identity you automatically give up some of your privacy, and you will need to identify if the trade off for this is worth it. In Raynes-Goldie’s (2010) extremely interesting study of Facebook users, she identifies privacy as a concern for its users. Despite millions of users who might bring pressure, the gaps and loopholes in Facebook’s privacy remain. More concerning are the subversive behaviours, such as aliases, that some users employ to protect privacy, whilst others actively exploit the loopholes to indulge in digital stalking. The fear of being left out means that “the use of Facebook is not necessarily a choice free of coercion” and has seen the emergence of the “privacy pragmatist”, willing to give away some privacy for benefits.
References:
Davis, L. (2009). 8 tools to track your footprints on the web, February 1. Available http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/8_tools_to_track_your_footprin.php
Davis, J. (2009). The unforseen consequences of the social web, January 25. Available http://readwrite.com/2009/01/25/social_web_unforeseen_consequences
Harris, C. (2010). Friend me?: School policy may address friending students online, School Library Journal, 1 April. Available http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6724235.html
Henderson, J. (2009). How not to be a key online influencer. Available http://www.davidhenderson.com/key-online-influencer/
Raynes-Goldie, K. (2010). Aliases, creeping, and wall cleaning: Understanding privacy in the age of Facebook, First Monday, 15(1), 4 January. Available http://firstmonday.org/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/2775/2432
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