Digital Identity

Forming the concept of self through social narrative

Social Identity Theory

• Tajfel and Turner, 1979– Identity is formed through social interaction

– Different identities formed for different roles• E.g. Child, student, friend, team-mate, lover…

Digital Identity• Same theory, mediated through online

interaction

Many channels

• Facebook, email, IM, Twitter, MySpace, Hi5, LinkedIn,…

• How can you use these to promote yourself to potential employers/clients?

• What special considerations are there due to communication being on the internet?

• Think.

I ‘liked’ this and ‘shared’ it…

• Dear Mandy

Dear Mandy…

• What might potential employers think?– He pirates music/software?

– He spends all day on Youtube?

– He likes *shudder* rap?

• Or maybe…– He champions the rights of the citizen?

– He has a sense of humour?

– He cares deeply about fairness and justice?

You can’t please all of the peopleall of the time…

• If you have no visible presence online, or

• If you have a carefully manicured profile– Some people think you are cautious

– Others think you have something to hide

• If you have occasional outbursts, or dodgy photos– Some people think you aren’t careful enough

– Others think you are a rounded, real, human being

What you say, Where you say it

• The context of what you ‘say’ online is often as important as what you say.– Same is true offline, of course

– Difference is global audience and persistence of information (and risk of copy/paste or screen shots)

• Your Digital Identity is not just what you write– Other people can say stuff about you too – when

was the last time you Googled yourself?

What do you ‘look like’ on the Net?Pick 3 roles – sketch a ‘face’ showing how you might be

seen by others…

Role :

Face(t)s of your Digital Identity

Role :

Face(t)s of your Digital Identity

Role :

Keywords

• What are your interests?

• What are your skills?

• Create some web content (static or on social media) which illustrates these– Invite people to comment on your content

– Thank them for it, accept criticism where appropriate, stand your ground where necessary