My digital footprint By: Ava Ryalls

What is a digital footprint Your digital footprint is the mark you are creating for yourself the second you are born Your whole life all of the information you invest online becomes part of your footprint for everyone to see Your digital footprint will be there long after you are gone so you must take care of what you are posting, tweeting, commenting etc...

My little experiment I decided to google myself to see so far what kind of digital footprint I've been creating I wasn't surprised when there wasn't much about me personally on Google, all I saw was my Pinterest and Google+ account as well as my email and Edublog site Even thought my digital footprint doesn't seem large it's probably bigger than I realize and there are certainly people who have much larger parts of they're lives online then I do

How might your digital footprint affect your future opportunities? Question 1 How might your digital footprint affect your future opportunities?

There are many ways your digital footprint can and will affect your future For example, if you do not take care in what what you are putting on the Internet when your potential employer googles you and looks at your social media it's possible they won't like what they see and won't want you representing that company or organization On the other hand if you are cautious when commenting and posting things online and you aim to inspire and help others you could encourage your employer to look further into hiring you

Question 2 Describe three strategies that you can use to keep your digital footprint appropriate and safe

You can think before you post or comment about how your message might come across to others and how others might interpret what you are saying Is your message racist, sexist or is it maybe aimed at one particular person it could offend or hurt. If it is or if it could be seen that way then think twice about posting and think about wether or not you will regret saying those things in the future Be careful of who you are following, liking, hearting, etc because even if you personally aren't saying those things you are encouraging and acknowledging them

Question 3 What information did you learn and what would you pass on to others, how would you go about telling them?

I would want to make it clear to others that once something is said in the Internet or on social media it stays there forever, even once you think you have erased it there is almost guaranteed a copy or picture of what you said, posted, etc I learned that your digital footprint will essentially live a much longer life that you as it starts before you are born and will live long after you are gone so make sure that once you are gone, the things you leave online will reflect upon you positively When passing on information to others about digital footprints its important to make sure they understand the importance of it but still realize that the Internet and social media are great tools and if you use them cautiously they can be very powerful and inspiring

Thank you!