Tech Byte: Online Reputation--Who's Watching Yours?

Today our Tech Byte gathers inspiration from Jeff Utecht, a widely known and respected educator and presenter who teaches in China. He discovered that his school's Wikipedia entry had incorrect information in it so he writes about the broader implications of that. (FYI - this week's Byte is not about wikis again.)

reputation_look.jpgJeff's post begets another equally important question, "What is your personal online reputation?" I am frequently in the business of teaching youngsters to take care what they post on the internet because college admissions offices and employers will Google them (as will prospective dates) and that the information they post on the web is preserved there forever. Maybe we adults should check into what's out there about us. Have you Googled yourself lately? It isn't vanity, it's sanity. Links to that issue follow the Utecht excerpt.

Schools take control or forfeit your profile

from The Thinking Stick by Jeff Utecht

"Who is controlling your school’s online profile?

In my presentation to educators I usually say:

You need to take control of your online presence, because if you don’t…someone else will!

Schools need to understand where students go to get information about their school.

Schools need to understand that if you don’t control the school’s profile students will.

How is your school represented on Facebook?

How is your school represented on Wikipedia?

How can your school leverage these places as communication avenues?

How can your school leverage these social-networks for learning?

If someone at your school isn’t asking these questions…isn’t actively creating and managing your school’s online presence then the school is allowing students past/present/future to create it for them.

If school’s are not going to adopt and take these spaces seriously…then they will allow these social places to run the school’s image. Someday I have a feeling that will ruin a school, an administrator, or a teacher. We are only at the beginning of the use of these tools. Take control now or forfeit your online profile to others."

For the rest of the entry go to http://www.thethinkingstick.com/?p=677

And about personal online profiles and reputations:

Wikipedia's entry on "online reputation"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Online_reputation

Lifehacker's "Manage Your Online Reputation"

http://www.lifehacker.com/357460/manage-your-online-reputation

A blog all about online reputation management

http://www.onlinerepmanagement.com/

Technology Review's "Startup TrustPlus plans to help users build up an online reputation."

http://www.technologyreview.com/Biztech/19358/

Parents’ Universal Resource Experts Founder Sue Scheff Discusses Online Reputation

http://sueschefftruth.wordpress.com/category/reputation-defender/

NPR on "Repairing a Bad Online Reputation"

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=19200898

Photo credit: http://www.bioteams.com/images/reputation_look.jpg