“At some point in your life, you’re probably going to get googled, and the information that pulls up might affect what others think of you”. – Daniel Solove
Your digital identity is your online identity, it’s how you view yourself, and it’s also how others see you online. Digital Identity can have positive and/or negative effects.
Since its creation in the mid-1990s, the Internet has grown into a global entity that is a part of millions of people’s daily lives. However, we are moving toward a world where a permanent record of people’s information can be found online, potentially haunting us by what we have done. We need to understand the magnitude of the Internet. Once data has been placed online, it can never really find its way off. Therefore, we must be prudent about what information we put about ourselves on the Internet, as our digital identity can become just as important as our physical one. Fortunately, there are ways to manage how we are perceived online.
To create a professional digital identity, you first need to understand what makes you, YOU. You need to know who you are, what your story is, and most importantly stick with that story. Company brands that have been successful were those that had a personal story that touched on emotion. By understanding your strengths and weaknesses, you will be able to highlight those aspects that set you apart from other people. This regards all aspects of your personal brand: in-person and online. Reflect your true self in everything you do, or you will risk looking not credible. This means managing the various social platforms that you are already on. Try doing a social media audit to ensure your digital platforms conform to your personal brand and how you would like others to perceive you. Even better, have a peer evaluate your various digital platforms for an outside opinion!
To create your personal brand, you also have to identify your target audience, who you would like to communicate your brand to, set yourself apart from your competitors, and clearly synthesise what you stand for. To be able to create your personal brand sometimes is really helpful to research and to examine how others have done it. Through this activity, you will be able to get inspiration and develop your own personal brand. Also, it is essential to choose the tools that will help you to build your identity. With new apps being created every day, there are countless ways to present your digital identity. Whether it is through an infographic chart, animated video, or other media creation, just be sure to be you!
Once you know what you want to say, and you’ve chosen your tools, it’s time to write your story. Don’t forget to communicate your message clearly, tie things back to your personal brand, and be authentic! Then you have creatively crafted a story that is uniquely yours.
Supporting evidence and practices
Sometimes some good soul-searching can help you to better understand who you are. To do this, try to understand what your needs are; consider your life circumstances; recognise your strengths, values, passions, and goals; and identify your mission in life. Knowing how others perceive you is also very helpful in discovering what makes you unique. There are some great tools out there, such as the ‘Reflected Best Self Exercise’, that can help you do just that.
Check out how others have presented themselves online: see what worked and what didn’t. When creating our ePortfolios, there are great examples to fall back on if we need a little inspiration.
When you are ready to start writing your story and you don’t know where to start just follow the seven principles to create a digital story. Be sure to incorporate a:
- Point of view
- Dramatic question
- Emotion
- Voice
- Soundtrack
- Economy and
- Pacing.
Books
John Lincoln, (2016). Digital Influencer: A Guide to Achieving Influencer Status Online
Warren Knight, 2016. Think #Digital First