A Reflection On Authenticity

Photo Credits: via theunitive.com

It has been a great learning experience reading posts on how to create an authentic digital profile and that has prompt me to log in to my inactive LinkedIn account that was created years ago. As i typed in the URL. pressed enter and tried to recall the password, i dread the amount of work i have to do to breathe life into this extremely lacking, empty and boring profile. I understood it is going to be a process and my first hurdle is authenticity. Is full disclosure a good thing? Is authenticity a luxury only a few can affford? The quote Tor mentioned at the beginning of his post gave me a starting point to work on.

I have also gain a few pointers from Cindy Gallop, who publicly shared her sexuality with the world when launching her new company, MakeLoveNotPorn.

• Identify exactly who you are and what you stand for, what you believe in, what you value.
• Only ever behave, act and communicate in a way that is true to you.
• Then you never have to worry about when anybody comes across you or what you’re found doing, because by definition you are never caught doing anything to be ashamed of.

Yes, it might be a calculated business/marketing/pr decision to share her sexuality with the world. Michael Simmons states that by doing so, Cindy is building an authentic network; a network of kindred spirits around her who deeply value her for for who she is. Kindred spirits are people we connect with at a very deep level and who play a transformative role throughout our life. As entrepreneurs/marketers, this means vendors, partners, employees, investors, mentors, and customers with shared values. Cindy has entered a virtuous cycle of success and fulfillment where being herself is rewarded because that’s what people want and expect. She doesn’t have to worry about other people discovering who she really is. She has already ‘outed’ herself.

Simmons also mentioned that most people have the opposite of authentic networks; default networks. Default networks are the networks we fall into and then try to fit into. If we continually operate in a way where we feel like we need to be inauthentic in order to be successful or appreciated, we’ll feel like a fraud, be less authentic (therefore less trustworthy), and less passionate (therefore less effective). Ultimately, a vicious cycle will occur where we attract and ultimately become financially dependent on a network of people who do not reflect our deepest values.

Just a few thoughts i’ll have seating at the back of my head when i start to, slowly but surely, fix my digital profile.

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Blogs I have commented on:
https://aetiiqcaz.wordpress.com/2014/12/03/are-you-for-real/comment-page-1/#comment-17
http://torws.wordpress.com/2014/12/03/the-brand-called-you-3/comment-page-1/#comment-15

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References
Simmons, M., 2014. http://www.forbes.com/. [Online]
Available at: http://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelsimmons/2014/08/11/how-to-bulletproof-your-reputation-in-the-digital-age/[Accessed 4 12 2014].

Advice from a LinkedIn Guru

Being authentic can be a challenge, but it is important! In today’s digital age, having an authentic professional profile on the net is becoming a necessity for us job-seeking students!

Here are some advice i came across from Brendan Browne (LinkedIn’s head of global talent acquisition.) who hires all the staff at LinkedIn.

• Choose who you want to be and what you want to do, and share it on your LinkedIn profile.  We have to ask ourselves,  “what am I passionate about?”   Find someone who is doing that “thing” that you want to do, “follow them” and then leverage social media to accelerate the process of being your authentic self.
• Be Authentic. Add a professional picture to your profile (I need to start working on that soon!)– your activity on LinkedIn should also reflect your passion.  If you want to be a chef, make sure your profile says that and then share relevant culinary editorial to your connections.
• When you share content on LinkedIn, add your personal voice to it. Brendan suggested adding a pithy statement to the beginning like, “Dang, how can I meet this LinkedIn Guru?” Say something – don’t just forward an article.  Brendan says, “Most magnetic people share insightful content with personal comments that lets their personality shine through.”
• Brendan Browne’s take on standing out from the pack: Engage with other people on LinkedIn to stand out from the crowd and be noticed. Brendan says, “how can I get my LinkedIn profile noticed by this recruiter, company or employee?” Build a network that is carefully selected. Join groups that you find relevant or interesting.  Follow influential people. After you have commented, shared or liked their content – reach out to connect with that person.

Lets assume you have followed the awesome advice Brendan Browne has given. What next? Maintenance! Yes, doing an audit of your digital profile can be a chore. But all of us have to monitor and polish our digital footprint else there might be holes for people to poke at! For example the ex head of Yahoo! was forced to step down after it was found out he did not, as his resume said, have a computer science degree.

I’ll end with this quote by Simone Collins

“Digital audits will do you little good if they do not happen on a semi-regular basis, just as haircuts won’t make you look very polished if you only get a trim once a year. You will only be able to keep your digital identity in tip top shape if you lovingly tweak and tune it.”

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References

Anon., Tim McNamara. firebrandtalent. [Online]
Available at: http://blog.firebrandtalent.com/2012/05/does-your-resume-match-up/
[Accessed 3 12 2014].

Collins, S., 2013. Huffingtonpost. [Online]
Available at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/simone-collins/online-identity-audit_b_3756840.html
[Accessed 3 12 2014].

Hyams, C., n.d. jeffbullas.com. [Online]
Available at: http://www.jeffbullas.com/2012/11/09/personal-branding-on-linkedin-10-mistakes-to-avoid/
[Accessed 3 12 2014].

Tsouvalas, D., 2014. Studentadvisor. [Online]
Available at: http://www.studentadvisor.com/pages/linkedin-enhance-your-profile-and-get-the-job-of-your-dreams#.VH7YVDGUd1U
[Accessed 3 12 2014].

 

Topic 2 : Reflection

So after reading several blog posts, it seems that most of us would choose to adopt either of the following strategies

Strategy #1: Use One Profile for All Social Media Networks
Strategy #2: Use Separate Personal and Professional Profiles

I am a believer of strategy #2, if only for these few points

• Helps maintain work-life boundaries
• Less fear of your colleagues or boss seeing personal details you may not want to share, so you may be more candid
• Messages from contacts will be more relevant to the account type

As for anonymity vs authenticity, it was interesting to that see that Zoie agrees with Mark Zuckerberg, that “Having two identities for yourself is an example of a lack of integrity.” While Evelina disagrees, stating that you are just  turning the volume up on some aspects of your identity, and tone down others, all based on the particular context you find yourself. I agree with Evelina. I do not think he should be questioning people’s integrity for simply wanting to manage their identities online. I believe you can have a layer of anonymity and still be authentic in your interactions on the web. I don’t think being authentic means that you have to expose every single detail about your life.

To finish off my reflection, i would like to thank Elisha for bringing to my attention  the idea of “Owning your identity” in her comment to my post. There is this technology that was created upon the idea that, in the world of big-data where private information of people are being traded for profit, consumers should have a choice. Consumers should own their identity, and be able to profit from how their identity gets used, and most importantly, they should be able to choose and know when it’s being accessed and how it’s being used. While this seem to be a terrific idea that is pro-consumer, i am not sure that organizations that collect and sell data to advertisers would be excited about it. Also if this technology becomes widely adopted, many of the free services online that rely on ad revenue as income would cease to exist.

Till next time!

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Links blogs i have commented on:

https://wingslykeagles.wordpress.com/2014/12/01/topic-2-online-identity-privacy-and-security/comment-page-1/#comment-7

https://cheexiuzhen.wordpress.com/2014/12/01/topic-2-online-identity-privacy-and-security/comment-page-1/#comment-11

One or more online identities? Which Is more suitable for you!

It really depends. What are your personal interests? Are they aligned to what you are doing professionally? Should you keep your personal and professional identities completely separate online? I think there isn’t a definitive answer. It boils down to the individual.  How much you want a potential employer to be able to find out about you and how strong your desire for privacy is, are questions that will lead us closer to the answer we are looking for.

There are people that live with their identities in public because they have to, either because they work in public under their own names or assumed identities, or because they prefer to be seen as an expert, guru or an authoritative figure with their comments and public interactions on the web.  However there are other people who prefer a layer of anonymity so they can speak their mind, comment and write what they really feel, and join the communities they prefer without worrying about who might find them there later.

I’m leaning more towards the side of keeping my online identities separate. By being relatively anonymous, i am free to comment where i want to, say what  i want, and be an active participant in any community i wish, without fear that my professional portfolio or career will be affected by it. In addition to that, i can decide who sees what, and what information is available to a potential employer, business partner, family member, or anyone else looking for information on me and what i have been up to. This allows me to have the option to let some people into both worlds while keeping most people in the ones i prefer.

I would like to end this post encouraging you to think about a hypothetical scenario. Imagine this happened to you :

Lifehacker.com gave a detailed answer to the above situation that i feel is worth 5 minutes of your time as it is likely that we might be in a similar situation in the future! Here is a sneak peek to a much more comprehensive response here

References

Henry, A., 2012. Lifehacker. [Online]
Available at: http://lifehacker.com/5896413/what-do-i-do-when-my-employer-wants-to-be-too-social[Accessed 1 December 2014].

Info-Graphic- Available at: http://www.acma.gov.au/theACMA/Library/researchacma/Research-reports/digital-identity[Accessed 1 December 2014]

Topic 1 : Reflection

It has been an interesting learning experience so far reading my classmates’ posts and commenting on them ( @Simon’s blog and @Xiu Zhen’s blog ).

There are two posts that got me thinking about “Visitors” and “Residents” in business / marketing context. The first one was Vanessa’s post where she mentioned about being able to identify who are the “Visitors” and “Residents” of your target audience. She also gave an example of how a retail business ASOS.com created a virtual marketplace where independent labels could sell and interact with their customers, and that the marketplace forces consumers to get on the internet and talk. She suggests that ASOS.com has successfully indirectly create online communities that has changed their customer behaviors from being a visitor to a resident.

Whether ASOS.com did really incite change in their customer behaviors is up for debate. Tor pointed out in his comment to Vanessa’s post that a “Visitor” could just visit the site, make a purchase, leave and only return when the need arises again. He ended his comment with a thought provoking question: “what do you think could be a strong reason for a “Visitor” to change to a “Resident”?” That question could be partially answered by Simon’s post, where he talks about Homer and Kahle’s value-attitude-behaviour hierarchy (1988).

Are they any relationships between the type of content, product or service a “Visitor” would prefer compared to a “Resident”?

As marketers, are we able to influence the opinions, attitudes and beliefs of our target audience in such a way that we could constantly change where they stand in the spectrum of Visitors to Residents, to align them to whatever we are selling and elicit a purchase response?

More questions that i do not have answers to !

Topic 1 – Visitors, Residents And Me

Visitors are essentially people who go online, do whatever they need to do and go off. They come and go as they please and leave little to no trace.  As a result they usually have got little to no social persona online.

Residents are people who live out a portion of their life online.  They have a form of their identity, which stays out there online even when they log off.  However, that online persona may become “outdated” or irrelevant if they cease to put up content on the platforms they reside in.

My Digital Engagement Map!

As you can see from my map, most of my engagement with the digital environment falls into the “visitor” category. I see these platforms as tools i need, to complete various tasks, seek information and to entertain myself. I don’t rely on them to build an audience, create content, and maintain a personal brand to rake in the ad revenues like these guys do! These “Residents”, content creators also known as “YouTubers” rely heavily on visibility on the web to put food on the table!

However i do understand the importance of being visible on the web in terms career development activities and attracting potential employers. As we complete this course, our internship and eventually gain full time employment, i expect my map to be different with new boxes popping up and existing ones shifting positions as well

Can the Visitor Resident Mapping Process be helpful in a business/marketing context?

It’s designed to help you explore and reflect upon how you engage with the digital environment and then investigate how your students/users/staff engage with what you provide

Is this mapping process useful in providing insight on how customers engage with products and services ? Where would this mapping process fit, in a sea of sophisticated CRM and Analytic software? Perhaps it is suitable for start ups who are bootstrapping? Maybe as a business you would invite your top spending customers to a mapping session, identify who the visitors and residents are, then perhaps adopt a transaction marketing approach to “visitors” and a relationship marketing approach to “residents” ? Sorry for providing more questions than answers! Thanks for reading! Please do comment too!

References

White, D., 2009. TALL blog Online education with the University of Oxford. [Online] Available at: http://tallblog.conted.ox.ac.uk/index.php/2009/10/14/visitors-residents-the-video/[Accessed 27 11 2014].

White, D., 2013. TALL blog Online education with the University of Oxford. [Online] Available at: http://tallblog.conted.ox.ac.uk/index.php/2013/06/05/vandrmapping/[Accessed 27 11 2014].