TECH TIP

BUILDING A DIGITAL PERSONA

THE PROBLEM

You’re open and honest with just about everyone online and when you use mobile apps.

THE FIX

Carefully manage your online image to ensure it sends the appropriate message to the world.

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1. Honesty is the best policy, but oversharing is not, especially in the digital age. This goes double for students. Colleges and employers—present and future—can look you up online.
2. The best way to manage your image online is to be proactive and aware. Make sure your privacy settings on Facebook are up to par. For instance, allow only your friends to see your page, and if you list your birthday, don’t put the year. Be careful about expressing controversial opinions online that could work against you. Encourage your friends to put mobile devices away during activities that shouldn’t be recorded and not to share photos or videos that might be harmful to your or someone else’s reputation. If you do find yourself tagged in a picture that makes you look reckless or irresponsible, ask that the photo be removed immediately.
   

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   It’s not that you can’t be yourself, but your online presence should be something you can be proud of. Remember, once you put something online, it is public forever, regardless of your privacy settings. You have very little control over what happens to material after you make it public. This is also the case with mobile apps. For instance, Snapchat allows users to capture videos and pictures that supposedly self-destruct after a few seconds, but there is evidence that such material can indeed be restored. The guiding rule should be never to assume that something that’s vanished is truly gone.

3. Delete old accounts. If you have MySpace, LiveJournal, Blogger, or any other account that is still open to the public but not being updated, delete it. Not only do old accounts include out-of-date information and possibly tales of your high school crushes, but since you rarely if ever check those sites, you may not notice if your account has been hacked. You don’t want a potential employer to find your name associated with spam and questionable promotional links.
4. Stay one step ahead. Google yourself regularly, especially when applying for jobs. Make sure you know what potential employers can see. Look into free online services, which can dig up every mention of you online, drawing from regular search engines, social networks, and other video and photo sites.