by Allyson Bogie
In my mind, the PLE has a few components. One of these components is keeping track of your information sources. For example, a big part of my PLE is my Google Reader. Anytime I find a blog that I would like to read regularly, I add it to my reader. Then, I check my reader most days. I have different folders--friends/family, local, and professional/LIS. This is a significant source of information for me. I have also started using Twitter as a significant information source, and I'm noticing that it's rapidly getting used more and more, in so many different ways. I'm excited to be reading Twitter--and now I want to start producing content.
All of this relates to a blog post that I read on a cool block called Hack Library School that's in my Google reader. It's a blog maintained by library school students, and a lot of the entries really relate to my experiences and interests in SLIS and librarianship in general.
The blog post of mention is called "Online Presents, a.k.a. You 2.0" (Pho, 2011, February 2). Pho stresses the importance of having a Google-able online presence, and says this is something that she has spent some time discussing in library school. Certain things should be kept private (most likely your FB page) but you should also be aware of what is public--it can be surprising. In this vein, it's probably a good idea to "google" your name once in awhile. One comment that came up on the blog was that if at least one (or more) other people have your name, it can be problematic. People agreed that if this is the case, you have to try even harder to establish your online presence, so that if someone searches your name on Google they will recognize that your online presence is that of a librarian/librarian candidate with your name.
So my question to all of you is, how do you establish an online presence? What type of online presence do you have? Whose online presence do you admire? And when do you Google search someone? For what purpose?
Pho, C. "Online presence, a.k.a. you 2.0." (2011, February 2). Blog post. Accessed at hacklibschool.wordpress.com.
Great post, Allyson. I spend a lot of time thinking and talking about establishing and maintaining a positive digital footprint. I too use Google Reader but often access it through Feedly.com or Flipboard on my iPad. Both services allow me to see my reader feed through the same portal as Twitter, Facebook and a few other streams.
ReplyDeleteAs for the online presence itself I do the following:
- I write whenever I have something I feel I can contribute. This means that I'm continually contributing, what I feel is quality content which reflects on me.
- I make sure that I'm a member of professional organizations and try to get involved. This has an impact on your online presence.
- I do Google myself on occasion to check up on my profile and am rarely surprised about what find. Sometimes, I'm pleasantly surprised.
I will often Google search someone. This is usually when I have a friend request on a social network and I don't know the person or when I need to find out more for other reasons. I have Googled people when I'm hiring as well. I don't typically do it for hiring reasons, but if something comes up in a resume (good or bad) that I want more info on, I will check the person out.
Thanks for reading and for the comment, Marc. I was very interested in Feedly when you mentioned it in class, but unfortunately it's blocked at my middle school, where I am every day, attempting to learn new things as I work. I consider my web presence as well as my blog and twitter reading habits to be relevant to my paid work and so I usually read and ruminate on the library blogs here at school. I end up reading Twitter on my iPhone or at home.
ReplyDeleteI like your piont of writing when you feel that you have something to contribute. I think that I might maintain my blog that I started for this class as well as the 285 class that I'm in right now, because it's giving me space and time to comment on certain ideas. It also acts as a repository for ideas.