Creating a web portfolio and making the most of your online identity

Kristina Courtnage Bowman kriscb@uw.edu

Twitter: @kris_bowman

Personal online identity and brand • Who am I trying to reach? • What is my goal? What is my message? • Do I want a static site or dynamic site? • How often will content change? • Will I incorporate other aspects of my digital

identity like Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn?

Worksheet: http://bit.ly/uwportfolios Kristina Courtnage Bowman kriscb@uw.edu

Twitter:@kris_bowman

Building your online brand (3 C’s) • Content

– Status updates, news, links, photos, video, geolocation data

• Contacts – Friends, followers, fans, connections

• Consistency – Commit to contributing to your blog, Twitter feed,

Facebook page every _______ (day, week, month)

Kristina Courtnage Bowman kriscb@uw.edu

Twitter:@kris_bowman

How to get noticed online • Be active: Not only does this work with

humans, it works with search robots as well • Upload photos with name or keywords • Engage! If you are helpful, others will

recommend you. Examples: LinkedIn groups, Answers, #FollowFriday, #FF, Quora

Kristina Courtnage Bowman kriscb@uw.edu Twitter:@kris_bowman

LinkedIn: Benefits • Meet other people in your industry who you

are already connected to through a mutual acquaintance

• Find new customers and business partners • Find people with specific skills, experiences • Fill a job opening • Find a job or project work

Kristina Courtnage Bowman kriscb@uw.edu Twitter:@kris_bowman

LinkedIn SEO • Include top keywords in: professional

headline, summary, specialties and skills • Include keywords in current and previous

positions (H3 tags) • Personalize dynamic URL • Edit linking text to be more specific than “My

Website” or “My Blog” Kristina Courtnage Bowman kriscb@uw.edu

Twitter:@kris_bowman

LinkedIn Summary Paragraph • Forward-looking paragraph that tells people

what you do and what you have to offer. • Include information about current

organizations you work with (internships, volunteer)

• Wrap up with your background as it pertains to today.

• Use action words. Kristina Courtnage Bowman kriscb@uw.edu

Twitter:@kris_bowman

LinkedIn Privacy Settings • Activity Broadcasts (Turn off if making lots of

changes) • Activity Feed • Profile Views • Viewing Profile Photos • Data sharing • Third-party sites

Kristina Courtnage Bowman kriscb@uw.edu Twitter:@kris_bowman

LinkedIn Search • People search • Company search (follow companies) • Job search • Answers search • Groups search

Kristina Courtnage Bowman kriscb@uw.edu Twitter:@kris_bowman

LinkedIn Apps • Reading List by Amazon • SlideShare Presentations • Lawyer Ratings • Portfolio Display • Real Estate Pro • Wordpress • Events

Kristina Courtnage Bowman kriscb@uw.edu

Twitter:@kris_bowman

Tips for LinkedIn • Fill out profile completely so contacts can find

you more easily • Use a professional-looking photo (only enough

space for a headshot) • Have a clearly defined goal. • Send personal notes when making

connections. • Get recommendations before you need them.

Kristina Courtnage Bowman kriscb@uw.edu Twitter:@kris_bowman

Other social networks • Facebook • Twitter • Google+ • YouTube • Quora • Biznik

Kristina Courtnage Bowman kriscb@uw.edu Twitter:@kris_bowman

Benefits of a web portfolio • Express your personality • Express your brand • Flexibility to include as much information as

you want • Include full contact information

Kristina Courtnage Bowman kriscb@uw.edu Twitter:@kris_bowman

Tips for effective web portfolios • Short sentences • Strong, forceful language • Clarity • Promote your best work on the front page • Less is more • Use links (but avoid visual clutter) • Use tags on posts

Kristina Courtnage Bowman kriscb@uw.edu

Twitter:@kris_bowman

Site Map for portfolio page

Home page: Introduction /photo

Resume Portfolio Contact References

Kristina Courtnage Bowman kriscb@uw.edu Twitter:@kris_bowman

Wordpress • Themes • Custom headers • Static or dynamic • Widgets • Post vs. Page • Linking

Kristina Courtnage Bowman kriscb@uw.edu Twitter:@kris_bowman

Wordpress Settings • General settings

– Tagline

• Reading Settings – Front page: Static page

• Discussions Settings – Require moderation

• Privacy Settings – Enable or disable search engines

Kristina Courtnage Bowman kriscb@uw.edu Twitter:@kris_bowman

URLs • File and folder names become part of the URL

- keep them short • Use lower case letters • Don’t use spaces

Kristina Courtnage Bowman kriscb@uw.edu Twitter:@kris_bowman

Hosted vs. self-hosted Wordpress Hosted at Wordpress.com Self-hosted Wordpress

Pros • Just a few minutes to set up • Free – no need to pay for hosting • Variety of themes to choose from • Software never needs updating

Cons • Limited customization • Limited widgets • Pay extra to store video or audio (but

linking is OK)

Pros • Unlimited customization (if you know

how or can hire someone) • Branded URL and links • Plug-ins and widgets to do just about

anything you can think of (though finding the right one is another matter)

• Both free and for-a-fee themes Cons • Pay for domain registration (about

$12/year) • Pay for hosting (about $50/year, more

with privacy enhancements) • Limited (if any) theme support • Manual updating of software

Registering a Domain Through Wordpress

• What is it? Go to www.mysite.com instead of www.mysite.wordpress.com

• Cost: $17/year. For $8 more, you can make the domain registration private.

• Drawbacks: No FTP access. If you want to self-host your blog later you will need to transfer your registration.

Kristina Courtnage Bowman kriscb@uw.edu Twitter:@kris_bowman

Domain Forwarding/Masking • What is it? If you already own mysite.com and want

to forward to mysite.wordpress.com. • Cost: About $12/year for domain registration. (More

for private registration.) Pages still hosted for free at Wordpress.com.

• Drawbacks: Only works for home page unless you upgrade Wordpress account ($12/year): http://en.support.wordpress.com/domain-mapping/map-existing-domain/#nameserver-instructions

• More: http://help.godaddy.com/article/422

Popular Registrars and Hosting • GoDaddy.com • Bluehost.com • Namecheap.com • Name.com • Hostgator.com • DreamHost.com • MediaTemple.net

Kristina Courtnage Bowman kriscb@uw.edu Twitter:@kris_bowman

Resources • Ultimate guide to using Wordpress for a

portfolio • Creating a successful online portfolio • How to Optimize 7 Popular Social Media

Profiles for SEO

Kristina Courtnage Bowman kriscb@uw.edu Twitter:@kris_bowman

Questions???

Kristina Courtnage Bowman kriscb@uw.edu Twitter:@kris_bowman