Here’s my final post to summarise this module; Living and Working On the Web.

*ClapClap* Amateur first try on editing a video all by myself. *ClapClap*

Links to my online profile: 
(Click on picture to link to page :))

[LinkedIn]

[AboutMe]

Before this module, I do not have any professional online profile such as LinkedIn and AboutMe that is supposed to aid in my employability. However, midway through the module, I realised the value of it, therefore created both accounts and filled up my ‘online resume’ managing my online identity. I found out that these platforms not only allow easy searching for people who are interested in me, but also allow me to connect and engaged with them, and find new opportunities. Online profile equals to a passport and an identity. 

[Twitter]

The use of Twitter and WordPress also showed me that the type of contents input matter a lot. Prior to the module, I have stopped using Twitter for quite some time. (Initially, I used it to connect with my friends which is more social and lifestyle based.) However, I decided to start afresh and created a new Twitter account and WordPress blog for posting of assignments. Of course the content are mostly marketing related, thus I got followers that are working in this field or like-minded people other than my classmates. Type of content brings type of followers! 

[Facebook]

[Instagram]

Facebook and Instagram is for personal use and I would like to make it stay that way. Other than my professional profiles, I would like to show other aspects of myself that tend towards my personality, lifestyle, interests and hobbies. One major takeaway from this module to keep my online identity as true as possible, believing in the true essence of authenticity. People should be able to see the all rounded me 🙂 Having said that, I will still be careful on the ethics of social media and what I post online. Being authentic online does not mean I can ignore social media ethics.

Well, if you make a Google search on me now, you will be able to find me but I am not exactly there yet. I am still clouded by other Evelina and one of them is a famous fashion blogger name Evelina Barry. Ahhh… Sucks to have a famous person having the same name as you yeah?Anyway, I will not let that affect me too much because I can make a difference in the near future.

I understand now that there is a lot of hard work behind the screen to be easily found by people on Google! Moving forward, I will continue to make good use of the various platforms as mentioned. Hopefully, I can find new platforms to utilise as well. I will think of ways to collaborate with others to make things come to life! Just like the video I have collaborated with Sara on Topic 5 Reflection. (Check out here if you have not 🙂 ) One more area I mentioned in my previous post that I will work on is to start learning how to video edit better. HOW HARD IS THAT! Hopefully, you will see my improvement as I go along!

Cheers!

Reflection Summary on Topic 5

WAO WAO WAO. Dear #MANG2049, we have come to the final reflection summary post! I am pleased to say I have collaborated with Sara to come up with a video to reflect on our thoughts. It was a fun experience 🙂 Go on .. watch it and have a good laugh 🙂

Ah yes, not forgetting the out-takes 🙂

P/S: I have commented on Charmaine and LucyHewson blogpost.

Advantages and Disavantages of Online Content Freely Available

I wanted to try something different for this topic so I thought why not make a video. It was my first time and I failed quite terribly 😦 I have no skills when it comes to editing my video. Wish I have more time to explore! Proof of my failed attempt.. (Time to add this skill on my 2015 New Year Resolution!)

Nevertheless, I was determined to have this post different from my usuals. Take a look at the Prezi slides I have done up. Just to give you a heads up before you click. In my slides, I look at 2 aspects, free contents for education and entertainment purposes. So is there an in between of entertainment and education? Check out at the last part of my presentation 🙂

References

FutureLearn, (2014). FutureLearn — Free online courses. [online] Available at: https://www.futurelearn.com/ [Accessed 9 Dec. 2014].

Mcveigh, J. (2013). Advantages and Disadvantages to a content producer of making their material freely available online. [Blog] Available at: http://jasminmcveigh.wordpress.com/2013/09/29/advantages-and-disadvantages-to-a-content-producer-of-making-their-material-freely-available-online/#comments [Accessed 9 Dec. 2014].

Pang, Y. (2014). OPEN ACCESS TO ONLINE MATERIALS FOR ALL – UTOPIAN DREAM OR UNSTOPPABLE FORCE?. [Blog] Available at: http://yeepingpang.wordpress.com/2014/05/04/uosm2008-topic-5-open-access-to-online-materials-for-all-utopian-dream-or-unstoppable-force/ [Accessed 9 Dec. 2014].

Levine, R. (2011). How the internet has all but destroyed the market for films, music and newspapers. [online] the Guardian. Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/media/2011/aug/14/robert-levine-digital-free-ride [Accessed 9 Dec. 2014].

Strauss, K. (2013). TV and Film Piracy: Threatening an Industry?. [online] Forbes. Available at: http://www.forbes.com/sites/karstenstrauss/2013/03/06/tv-and-film-piracy-threatening-an-industry/ [Accessed 9 Dec. 2014].

Suber, P. (2013). Peter Suber, Open Access Overview (definition, introduction). [online] Legacy.earlham.edu. Available at: http://legacy.earlham.edu/~peters/fos/overview.htm [Accessed 9 Dec. 2014].

Viner, A. (2013). Pros and cons of illegal downloading, which I never do. [online] Western Courier. Available at: http://www.westerncourier.com/opinions/pros-and-cons-of-illegal-downloading-which-i-never-do/article_86080d6e-3676-11e3-ae2f-001a4bcf6878.html [Accessed 9 Dec. 2014].

Reflection Summary on Topic 4

This topic by far has been the most challenging one due to the many areas that can be potentially discussed as well as the challenge of identifying what is ethically right or wrong. I discussed on individual’s use of social media at work and I brought up the argument of what is seen ethical, or rather, acceptable behavior from the different generations.

One major issue highlighted by Sara was employee’s ability to expose business information with just a click of a button. An avenue to rant discontentment using social media might very well leak out company’s trade secret to its competitors. She also propose that organisation should put in place a social media policy.

Yiming expressed in his comment that Millennials are young, ‘open-minded’ and think they should have freedom of speech. For people that are not able to control their emotions and practise self-control, Yiming also suggested that company should have an avenue for employees to voice out their discontentment. I thought this is rather a good idea but also thought there are quite a few factors to consider if not the implementation might backfire! Check out my reply to him.

I also realised that some individuals upload content on social media without realizing that it may do harm to their reputation and affect their job prospect. A great example of Stancy Snyder mentioned by Torws made me believe that we should be responsible of what we upload not solely for the benefit of ourselves but also for the company that we are representing. As much as we emphasise on the idea of authentic online profile, there are things we should keep it private and not display online. Check out my discussion with Torws.

This topic made me realise that other than being authentic, sometimes, we should be clever not to upload certain type of contents that might cause great controversial issues. With the help of company’s social media policy, we can also get a clearer idea of what we can place on social media to the best of our advantage.

 

Social Media At Work: Lets Think Before We Post

Despite the vast topics on social media ethical issue, I thought it would be useful for me and for you (Reminder: Internship in 6 months!) to look at social media used at work and the ethical issue. Especially when we are most probably going to work in industries such as marketing and advertising, entertainment, broadcast, etc. that requires hefty use of social media.

Wonder what is ethical and what is not? It seems like there is no definite answer to that. A study by Ethics Resource Center (ERC), 2013, on Generational Differences In Workplace Ethics of the American workforce, shows that different generations –Traditionalist, Boomers, Gen X and Gen Y (Millennial) has contrasting views.

 Source:  Ethics Resource Center (ERC), 2013.

 Source:  Ethics Resource Center (ERC), 2013.

So after looking at the result, this illustration below came into my mind. As we can see from the results, Millennials are way more open to questionable behaviours. It may be alright to them to state their views because it is their freedom of speech and their open honesty but “On social media, anything you say or do can be used against you in the court of public opinion.” (Mintz, 2014 cited Jaylene)

Dear Millennials, is it that hard to not post whatever that will do injustice to you? I might be a tad conservative speaking as a Millennial myself, but losing a job, negative image and comments are not worth it for that one post. (I cannot deny maybe some like the spotlight.)

For those that prefer to not lose a job, below are simple pointers that I came up with that might help us refrain from getting into trouble at work because of the wrong use of social media.

1. Know Your Company’s CultureCompany has responsibility in framing out the Do’s and Don’ts but we have the responsibility to know what are them. Go and find out what is acceptable in your everyday work place.
2. Practise Self-ControlReally mad about your boss? Really mad about how your company works sometimes? You can still choose not to tweet about that! It is time we practise some self-control! As mentioned by Lynda Moultry Belcher, “While a company can give its employees rules, policies and other directions, it cannot guarantee that employees will exercise self-control when it comes to ethical decisions.” I cannot agree more to that.
3. Treat Others How You Would Like To Be TreatedHave not we heard of this golden rule somewhere? No matter offline or online, we should all live by this rule because workplace environment can be made better. The difference in generation on workplace ethics should not be an excuse not to be courteous online. Remember, think before posting.

Lets cheers to better social media ethics and good luck to all on your internship experience 🙂

References

Animated GIF: Giphy

Belcher, LM. (2014). Two Challenges That Many Companies Face in the Area of Ethics. [online] Small Business – Chron.com. Available at: http://smallbusiness.chron.com/two-challenges-many-companies-face-area-ethics-23390.html [Accessed 5 Dec. 2014].

Ethics Resource Center (ERC), (2013). Generational Differences In Workplace Ethics. [online] United States of America, pp.12-13. Available at: http://www.ethics.org/files/u5/2011GenDiffFinal_0.pdf [Accessed 5 Dec. 2014].

Mintz, S. (2014). Reposted Jaylene, A. Sexual Discrimination and the use of Social Media in the Workplace. [Blog]Workplace ethics advice. Available at: http://www.workplaceethicsadvice.com/2014/09/sexual-discrimination-and-the-use-of-social-media-in-the-workplace.html [Accessed 5 Dec. 2014].

Reflection Summary on Topic 3

From this topic, I realised the reason why we find the need to create an online profile is because potential employers are looking at us online and why we put in effort to create an authentic and interesting one is because of increasing competition. Imagine me as a fish and among all other fishes in the sea, how hard is it to notice me?

(As seen from Rochelle’s post. View full infographic here.)

Rochelle gave some good advise on steps and reminders we can take when developing our digital profile. She also quoted from Sabrina Baker,

“The resume and interviews are my indicator of whether an individual has the skill set to do the job, but online profiles can help me determine if their personality is going to fit in with the culture and environment of the job at hand.” which also complements well with Steve Buttry’s quote as seen from Sara’s post saying that

 “The image you present online is not more important than the work you can do. But you may not get to show what you can do if you don’t show someone first in your digital profile.”

Oh my, the changes of recruitment! No more the days of employers looking through our CV and inviting us for interview to determine if we are in or not. I even question countries that even encourage no photo on CV, because I reckon most employers will still Google and check you out online? Having said that, BrandYourself helps individual improve their Google search result for free.

As mentioned, we should strive to create authentic and interesting online profile. Novina shared on the HOWs to do this. We should reflect our personality, figure our strengths and weakness and then think of ways to make ourselves stand out to achieve our goals. This made me question if having a more extrovert personality has advantage over an introvert. She made a good point that extrovert does leave a greater impression because of their constant update -similar to a brand constantly advertising itself. However, she believes that our future employers would place greater emphasis on our capabilities in completing tasks given and being well-spoken would be a bonus.

There is so many aspects we need to take note to develop a successful identity and it is never easy but with hard work and dedication, and probably with some luck, I believe I can be that fish getting noticed 🙂

Say “YES” to Authentic Online Profile But Keep Yourself Interesting

Getting myself a job can be made easier if I do well in school, produce a real good resume, carry myself well and also having good network. Really? That was what I thought. (A belief that has changed this year) But I am not quite there. Do you see we are living in an internet world where not having an internet profile seems rather odd. To me, it feels very much like a person without a passport and an identity and no one can possibly connect with you because your presence is not there – non-existent.

So you say “I need an online profile.”

Chamorro-Premuzic (2013) suggests that in a hyperconnected world that we are living in, we have got to be a hyperconnector but this does not mean being online 24/7; it is about optimizing the online experience for others. Gallagher (2014) mentioned that new generation thinks social media makes a big difference in developing personal business network. That, plus new levels of transparency and realigned priorities, together adding new levels of authenticity to the client relationship dynamic.

Then you say “I need an authentic online profile.”

Lets not forget the focus of authenticity when we are trying to make our online profile interesting. I say authentic profile of ourselves aid us to build more authentic relationship with people online and offline. James T Noble shares his views on ways that business can be authentic and I thought it is also relevant to individuals developing online profile as well. We should be real, charitable, consistent, responsive, be what we say we are, do not share everything with everyone, etc. Read more here.

Michael Simmons writes authenticity is key in the digital age but he also has articles on importance of creating content and how to win friends and create influence in the digital age. It triggered me that despite being true, we still have to be clever in how we organise our content, page and profiles online to the best we can to keep our audience engaged and interested in us. “I am not another red apple, I am THE SWEET AND JUICY RED APPLE.”

Having said that, we should also be mindful to present our offline and online profile as close as possible. I think the last thing we want is to have people judging our credibility or suspect we have some sort of split personality!

Gosh, now you say “I need an authentic and interesting online profile!” 

References

Animated GIF: Giphy

Photo Credit: Alan

Chamorro-Premuzic, T. (2013). The Future of You. [online] Harvard Business Review. Available at: https://hbr.org/2013/01/the-future-of-you [Accessed 3 Dec. 2014].

Gallagher, K. (2014). Building business relationships in the age of authenticity and accountability. [online] The Drum. Available at: http://www.thedrum.com/opinion/2014/06/05/building-business-relationships-age-authenticity-and-accountability [Accessed 3 Dec. 2014].

TNoble, J. (2014). Truth Will Out – Why Authenticity is the Key to Growing Your Business. [online] Available at: https://blog.kissmetrics.com/truth-will-out/ [Accessed 3 Dec. 2014].

Simmons, M. (2014). Why Creating Content Trumps Face-To-Face Meetings. [online] Forbes. Available at: http://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelsimmons/2014/08/20/how-social-media-relationship-building/2/ [Accessed 3 Dec. 2014].

Simmons, M. (2014). How To Win Friends And Influence People In The Digital Age. [online] Thought Catalog. Available at: http://thoughtcatalog.com/michael-simmons/2014/09/how-to-win-friends-and-influence-people-in-the-digital-age/ [Accessed 3 Dec. 2014].

Reflection Summary on Topic 2

Learning without reflection is a waste, reflection without learning is dangerous – Confucius

Photo Credit: Francisco Martins

I enjoyed reading my peers’ blogpost on Topic 2. Always glad I can gain more perspectives and learn more! I really like Ebrahim‘s view on people doing what they are doing online for ‘likes’ because it is relatable and true. (Ebrahim is really good at finding video to backed up his statement!) Despite trying hard to display everything true about myself, I still face the crisis of only uploading nice contents about myself that will gather ‘likes’ and positive feedback. Many face the problem of only wanting to show their best side to the world but we should not forget to stay as consistent and coherent on how we portray ourselves on the platforms for social or professional use 🙂

I was inspired by Kelly where she discussed about marketers taking advantage of information consumers place online so there would be better understanding of consumer’s behavior and better target marketing. True enough that big data is the IN thing now and sure we can find out more about consumers online activities and content but I really question the difficulty in targeting the right audience because there are people who create fake accounts to trick people as mentioned by Aetiiqcaz. He also encourages not to divide personal and professional account too clearly so that we can show the wild side of ourselves to potential employers because according to him, as marketers, we should show the fun loving and creative side. I got curious on his extent of wild thus asked him about it. It also led me to think if the type and nature of the job also affects how we should function our partial identities in the online space.

My advise for employers? Do not trust everything you see online. You may sure go search for information on your potential employees but please leave some doubts. Your future employee may like to drink and club but that does not mean he/she does not have time management skills and is incompetent. Look at his/her interview performance, resume, and all other aspects for a better judgement. I know it is hard to shake off first impression but think about it, does a nicely portrayed image online equals to good employee? You never know…

Is Your Online Identity a True Semblance?

From the previous topic, I noticed that many of my peers and I are rather active on social networks but not really on the professional site such as LinkedIn. But I presumed most of us figured that regardless of which site, our online identity/identities would be speaking about us to our circle of friends, future employer, and any one else.

The Internet Society (2011) talks about partial identities (subset of characteristics that make up your identity) we have online as an individual interacts differently in each website we are at. Also, different websites has inconsistent idea of one’s identity because each see the characteristic of one person differently. However, at the back of the computer, it really is the same person engaging in diverse activities.

Think about the various activities you do online. Think about the accounts you set online. It seems very natural to have more than one identity because I cannot expect to show everything about myself right? Yes, it may also seem like I have multiple social personality disorders. Yet, this does not mean my partial identities are not true reflection of who i am. Instead, they are all part of me. Check out my depiction below.

“You have one identity… The days of you having a different image for your work friends or co-workers and for the other people you know are probably coming to an end pretty quickly… Having two identities for yourself is an example of a lack of integrity” – Zuckerberg, 2009

Sorry, Zuckerberg, I do not agree. Like what Zimmer (2010) said, it is not that you pretend to be someone that you are not; rather, you turn the volume up on some aspects of your identity, and tone down others, all based on the particular context you find yourself.

Let me just share my experience on Twitter. For this module, I created another Twitter account, partly to not disclose my personal tweets, and to segment my profiles for easier view. I know clearly which is for work and play. Having created my new Twitter account, I got myself very different follower types. I have professional accounts following me which my personal Twitter account will not get. Why? My activity here and there are obviously very different.

There is nothing wrong with having multiple social personality disorder, but please do not fake your partial identities. Social follow gives tips for people like me to manage my partial identities. A simple tip: Your ‘Follow Me’ button on your business website or blog should lead to your business’s social identity while your personal blog should connect to your personal online profiles.

References

Photo credit: Chris JL

Social Follow. (2011). Multiple Personalities- A Social Networking Disorder. [online] Available at: http://www.socialfollow.com/blog/social-following/multiple-personalities-a-social-networking-disorder/ [Accessed 1 Dec. 2014].

The Internet Society. (2011). Understanding your Online Identity: An Overview of Identity. [online] Available at: http://www.opus1.com/www/whitepapers/identity-overview1.pdf [Accessed 1 Dec. 2014].

Zimmer, M. 2010. Facebook’s Zuckerberg: “Having two identities for yourself is an example of a lack of integrity” [online] Available at: http://www.michaelzimmer.org/2010/05/14/facebooks-zuckerberg-having-two-identities-for-yourself-is-an-example-of-a-lack-of-integrity/ [Accessed 1 Dec. 2014]

Reflection Summary on Topic 1

Hello there, (Geeky Mode On)

I believe the first topic has been pretty thought provoking for most of us? Yes? At least it was for me 🙂

Initially, I mentioned two important points that I felt strongly about.

1. ‘Change’ is the reason to why the older generation might find it hard to grasp new technology at first. 
2. Our behaviour and activities online helps determine where we stand between Digital Visitor and Digital Residents.

After reading some blogposts by my classmates, I realised all felt that an individual can never strictly be one type i.e. Digital Visitor or Digital Resident in their life. This is because many of our experience involves us being a visitor at times and a resident at another time.

On Daphne’s blog, I questioned on her point that a Digital Resident refers to people who frequent social networking site. I wanted to find out more from her perspective if there are other forms of digital resident. Then I came across Evan’s example, where he mapped out Digital Resident and Digital Visitor that can be personal or institutional. I also found out his behaviour tends towards a Personal Digital Resident which means most of his activities appears at social networking sites.

My comment to him was focused on his opinion if we should have a balance of personal and institutional in the online space or should we focus more on institutional aspect to aid in our future employability? I learnt from him that it is a better decision to keep a balance because other than a professional image, employer would also want to find out more about us as individual from our personal sites to deem if we fit in the organisation. This also led me to think of the importance of keeping both personal and institutional section online the way that best represent me, displays strengths and what not to include that will bring about controversy.

I also chance upon Yiming’s blog where there was a discussion between Winnie and him about ‘Change’ that I was talking about. They made me realised that an individual motivation to change in this ever changing technology world depends a lot on context. Some of these factors includes individual’s education level, personality, family, circle of friends, work demands, and interest. Sara also commented on my post emphasising that learning should not be any difference for any age.

So to say, I still believe in my two points but after this exercise, these two points are further explored thanks to my peers. However, I know there are still many areas uncovered on this topic. Nevertheless, I learnt quite a bit 🙂 Thank you, peeps!

I am sure looking forward to Topic 2. Byebye for now!