Online Positivity

Having a positive digital footprint means having a good presence on the internet. Having a positive digital footprint is important, as controversial things that you may have posted in the past, even if you don’t think the same things later on in life, could come back to haunt you especially when it comes to getting jobs where your social media accounts are checked. This quote is a good example of something employers would see positively, “I’ll be eighteen soon, and right now, I’m deciding which college I’ll be going to next year. I’m interested in design and social entrepreneurship. I also like working with kids a lot. Although I’ve been quiet here, I’ve continued to do service work ever since I started this project. I’ve also helped other kids do the same by visiting classrooms and helping them start their own projects.” (Angela) This is a very good example of how you can advertise your positive traits online.

The first article talks about the ways to create and manage a positive online reputation, and what employers look for online when hiring. It lists the applicants personality that is shown in their posts, professional qualifications and conduct, communication skills, creativity, groups that the applicant is in, references from other people, and awards. The ways these things can be shown are through social media, blogging, web 2.0 applications, online competitions, and creating a digital resume. The author recommends this as a rule to follow when posting online, “Until now my digital citizenship and cyber safety talks have focused on the dangers of a negative digital footprint. I have been promoting the “Think before you post” message” (Alger)

The video talks about strategies you can use to spread your online reputation and detach yourself from things that damage that reputation. Such as un-tagging yourself from posts that could reflect negatively on you, and creating things that will show up in google searches when employers are looking through your history online, these are things like writing blog posts, creating an eBook, using free press release websites, or creating a LinkedIn profile. These are the best ways to show your positive traits to employers, “The easiest thing you can do is write about your internship or about your senior research, write about the things you love about the job you would like to have.” (Ratzlaff)

To have a negative digital footprint would mean that you post on controversial topics, voice controversial opinions, use language that may be seen as highly inappropriate or offensive, and showing more negative traits. A negative digital footprint is hard to get rid of, and can stain your reputation for a very long time and make it difficult to get jobs.

“Mac Computer” by Ilya Pavlov is marked with CC0 1.0.