Researcher online 1 Building an Online Identity

The Researcher Online:Building an Online

Identity

Dr Helen WebsterDigital Humanities Network

University of Cambridge

Wednesday, 10 October 2012

Before we start...I’d like to model the digital behaviour I’m advocating!

• Feel free to livetweet #DH23 #CRASSH

• Slides are online: Slideshare http://www.slideshare.net/drhelenwebster/

• We’re recording the talk to create a digital artefact. We’ll be focussing on the presentation rather than discussions.


http://www.slideshare.net/drhelenwebster/




Aims


AimsNot to teach tools, but...



• an awareness of the ways in which social and digital media platforms can enhance and be embedded in your work as a researcher




• an understanding of the issues raised by social and digital media tools, potential pitfalls, good practice and future impacts on the profession




• an understanding of the issues raised by social and digital media tools, potential pitfalls, good practice and future impacts on the profession

• an awareness of and ability to evaluate the various types of digital tool and make informed decisions about your own engagement with them in your practice


Thinking Digitally


Thinking Digitally

•Digital


Thinking Digitally

•Digital

•Networked


Thinking Digitally

•Digital

•Networked

•Open


Thinking Digitally

•Digital

•Networked

•Open

(Weller, 2012)


Before we get online....


Your professional identity

• What do you want to do as an early career researcher, in terms of promoting your identity (both traditionally and online)?

• Why do you want to be online?


Scale of digital engagement

TechnoFEAR! TechnoJOY!

(Izzard, 1997)


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ri8EOJBu5Fk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ri8EOJBu5Fk

Issues


Who are you, online?• What online social media platforms do you use?

• What information have you put online?

• What information might have been put online about you by others, e.g. friends, employers, educational institutions, etc

• What usernames, profile pictures etc do you use? Are they identifiably you?

• If someone Googles you, what would they find?


Write your name on a post-it note.

Now pass it along, 2 people to your left.


...now Google your partner.

• Analyse the results and draw up a profile of information and impressions about that person. Don’t forget to check the images tab!

• Now pass it back, 2 people to your right...


My identity?


Tips for enhancing your visibility



Google ranks certain types of website higher so link:




• social media




• social media

• sites with ‘authority’ - cam.ac.uk




• social media


Find out how people are searching for you and embed likely keywords (your metadata)




• social media



• academia.edu




• social media



• academia.edu

• Google search autocomplete suggestions




• social media



• academia.edu


Think ‘push’ and ‘pull’




• social media



• academia.edu



Update at peak times e.g. 9am, 3pm 6pm




• social media



• academia.edu



Update at peak times e.g. 9am, 3pm 6pm

If you don’t want something visible, you’ll have to bury it or ask for it to be taken down


Where are you on the web?

The Academic Web

The Open WebPassword

Proprietry/free


Where are you on the web?

• You currently belong to an institution, a discipline and a profession. All these may change, and your webspace associated with them.

• Any open web platform you use may be removed or changed.

How will you ensure longer-term online stability?


Collating Your Self: the Open Web

• Namechk - consistent username

• Grab variants of your (user)name

• Consistent and recognisable profile picture

• Gravatar

• Google Profile

• About.me, Flavours.me

• Share and update on other platforms


http://namechk.com/

http://namechk.com/

https://en.gravatar.com/

https://en.gravatar.com/

https://accounts.google.com/ServiceLogin?service=profiles&passive=1209600&continue=https://profiles.google.com/me&followup=https://profiles.google.com/me&ltmpl=ozlanding

https://accounts.google.com/ServiceLogin?service=profiles&passive=1209600&continue=https://profiles.google.com/me&followup=https://profiles.google.com/me&ltmpl=ozlanding

https://about.me/

https://about.me/

http://flavors.me/

http://flavors.me/

Collating Your Self:Academic Web

• Google Scholar Citations Profile

• ResearcherID

• ORCID


https://accounts.google.com/ServiceLogin?service=citations&continue=http://scholar.google.com/citations&hl=en

https://accounts.google.com/ServiceLogin?service=citations&continue=http://scholar.google.com/citations&hl=en

http://www.researcherid.com/Home.action?SID=Q146LPBJGi9Bo4emfPO&returnCode=ROUTER.Success&SrcApp=CR&Init=Yes

http://www.researcherid.com/Home.action?SID=Q146LPBJGi9Bo4emfPO&returnCode=ROUTER.Success&SrcApp=CR&Init=Yes

http://about.orcid.org/

http://about.orcid.org/

Or not?


Or not?If you want to keep your identities separate...



• Different platforms for different purposes




• Check privacy settings





• Have a policy on ‘friending’, ‘following’ etc and add a clear statement of your intentions






• Avoid logins and synching with Facebook/Twitter/LinkedIn etc







• Don’t let your computer ‘remember’ your login







• Don’t let your computer ‘remember’ your login

• Use pseudonyms and abstract profile pictures for personal identities


Principles of successful online engagement



• Don’t just broadcast- interact




• Offer something of value





• Address a defined audience (but be aware that anyone may be seeing you if on the open web)






• Update ‘regularly’ but don’t overload







• Offer something of yourself e.g. a photo, identifiable name, an appropriate personal tone








• Link it to yourself in Real Life









• Avoid the echo chamber









• Avoid the echo chamber

• Be professional, not perfectionist - be timely


What do you need your profile to do?

• What aspect(s) of your work or self do you want to promote?

• Who is/are your audience(s)? Who do you want to exclude?

• What purpose do you want to achieve, using this profile? What value is there for your audience?

• What kind of information do you want to exchange?

• What tensions or conflicts might you encounter?


What can you offer?


Some more decisions...a/ technoFEAR! or technoJOY!

b/ private or public?

c/ original content or mashup and curate?

d/ single identity or many identities?

e/ low activity or high activity?

f/ one platform or many platforms?

g/ content created specifically or ‘collateral damage’?

h/ academia or beyond?


Measuring success

• Keep Googling yourself *

• See who’s talking about you -

• Socialmention

• Technorati

• Academia.edu and Google search alert

• Blog analytics and who’s following you

• Google analytics


http://socialmention.com/

http://socialmention.com/

http://technorati.com/

http://technorati.com/

http://academia.edu/

http://academia.edu/

Platforms

Time commitment

High

Low

WebspaceAcademic Open web


What might you do with (e.g.) a blog?

• Wordpress

• Twitter


http://wordpress.com/

http://wordpress.com/

https://twitter.com/

https://twitter.com/

Tidying Up After Your Self

• Do experiment, but deactivate dormant accounts (where possible)

• Ask others (e.g. employers) to keep information current

• Personal digital archiving - what data do you want to keep, how long for, and in what format?

• Who owns your data? Can it be accessed by you or others?

• Have a password/username management strategy


Your StrategyTake:

• your aims

• the digital mindset

• principles for effective engagement

• your preferences

• your platforms

Create an infographic representing what you intend to do with your online identity


To explore further, seeDH23Things Module

Onehttp://dh23things.wordpress.com/


http://dh23things.wordpress.com

http://dh23things.wordpress.com

Researcher online 1 Building an Online Identity

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