A conclusion – Final Assessed Post

Initially when I first started out this module, I was unaware of the rising concerns in this digital world and had only little knowledge. However, as the module progressed and more topics were covered, I have definitely gained new and important insights regarding the digital world, most of which I had not expected to uncover. One of which is learning the impact our professional online profile has on our career prospects and how these social media platforms can be used more professionally. Through the module, I have learnt how to fully develop and utilise my online profiles.

Development of Professional Online Profile

1. LinkedIn

(My LinkedIn Profile)

On my LinkedIn page, I have treated it as my resume while injecting some personality in it, so that people can know me through a more personal level as well. I’ve followed a number of influencers and joined 21 communities relevant to industry.

How to improve?

My current LinkedIn profile strength is “Expert” but i intend to attain the highest level, “All-star” and this can only be done if i met the final criteria by having at least 50 connections (Donna Serdula, 2014). As of now, I only have 23. Therefore, by the end of December 2015 I will get connected with 55 people and at the same time, keeping my LinkedIn profile updated.

My goal on LinkedIn is to establish a positive reputation and raise awareness for my profile (Myself) amongst the industry of interest – Marketing and Advertising. I will first focus on 3 communities (Leadership and Management, Entrepreneurship, Marketing and Advertising) I am following and read 1 article from each community a day which I will provide well-thought comments when I can. After 6 months, I hope to publish posts of my own on these platforms.

2. Google +

To establish a strong online presence, Google + is a must have as it increases my profiles visibility in Google when relevant information is keyed into the search engine. (Thrive, 2015)

My Google + Profile

How to improve?

As the information required on Google+ Profile is generally similar to LinkedIn, I will work on the creativity of these information presented so that it will not seem like it’s duplicated and will completely fill-in my profile. I would start encouraging my friends to use google hangout and do more collaborations through google so that it would build up my profile activity. (Ashley Ward, 2015)

3. Twitter

(My Twitter Account)

4. Pinterest

Even though Pinterest is rarely thought of when developing a professional profile, it does provide a good insight on my interests and personality through a simple, refreshing way.

View my Pinterest account

How to improve?

As I am new to Pinterest, I have only created 1 board called “Design Inspirations”. For the next 6 months I hope to create new boards, named – Design Tips, Typography, Marketing Campaigns and Logos for Inspiration. I hope to achieve 50 pins for my boards from the public and gain followers. When these boards are well established, I will go on further to create a Pinterest board widget and link it to my personal blog, twitter and Facebook to enhance my professional online profile.

5. Personal Website/Blog

In gaining online presence, a personal website is particularly important in showcasing your works and profile, as well as increasing visibility. (Alexandra Janvey, 2014) This blog also acts as a point of reference to all my other online profiles (LinkedIn, Google +, etc) by including a social media widget as well as including a new “Aspiration ” page. This Aspiration page substitutes for the creative works I have yet to create.

How to improve?

On my personal blog, I intend to regularly write posts (once a month) regarding marketing news from sources such as Marketing Week, Forbes and Marketing Interactive. The post shown in above picture is a brief example of my intentions. From these posts I would analyse the news and reflect on what I’ve learned while linking it to my other profiles so that I could draw traffic to my blog. I hope this blog would demonstrate expertise and my positive learning attitude. 

6. Facebook

View my Facebook Account here

As my social network is largest on Facebook and it is easy for sharing, it will be mainly used as a medium to draw traffic to my other profiles.

Learning Points

From comparison of Audit:
(most impactful learning points)

Participating in online communities (From 3 > 4)

Before this module, I had little exposure to online communities mainly because I wasn’t exactly sure where to find them. But through researching for this module and creating new profiles, I found many online communities to participate in and I’m thrilled to interact with people of similar interests.

Managing Your Online Identity (From 3 > 4)

The impression I had of online identity when i started out was merely the presence of my social media accounts meant for personal use and I’ve not considered the question – single or multiple online identities. However, during the module, I’ve often pondered about the implications of single or multiple online identities and at the end of it, I’ve found myself rooting for multiple online identities through the development of my profiles.

Overall, this module has definitely intrigued me to find out more about the digital world and I love how this module encourages us to voice out on our blogs, using an informal approach.

References:

How to increase your SEO visibility with Google+

8 Tips to Improve your Google+ Profile

7 Easy ways to improve your LinkedIn Profile Strength

4 Reasons why you need an online portfolio

Co-branding against expectations – Apple and Hermes

Apple watch Hermes.

(Image from: apple.com)

During a special Apple event at end of August 2015, Apple have announced that they’ll be co-branding with Hermes to create a new product line – Apple watch Hermes. While this approach to co-branding will surely surprise the audience, it is indeed a meaningful case to look into.

Apple has always been known for its modern and sleek design while boasting its advanced technology.

Hermes, on the other hand, is a brand that’s based on tradition and heritage. Being a conservative brand, it appeals to customers with its timeless designs and leather goods.

Too Diverse – Yay or Nay?

These two brands in question are almost polar opposites of each other – one boasting advanced technology, another playing on tradition and heritage – so why the co-branding?

The answer is rather simple and enlightening in fact.

Being opposites, Apple and Hermes are able to fully leverage on each other’s strong brand name and image, boosting freshness and an element of surprise into both brands.

This partnership with Apple injects freshness and modernity for Hermes and keeps them at the cutting edge of luxury as well as focusing on their strengths – leather goods. As for Apple, the goal for this co-branding is direct – Apple is now a luxurious brand placed beside Hermes and Samsung is not.

Reflection

This article has given me very interesting and crucial insights on co-branding as it challenges the expectations that only similar brands should collaborate. The Apple watch Hermes shows that co-branding works best when two brands with different set of customers and associations partner up. It provides as:

1. an element of surprise to customers

2. An intrigue to customers and therefore raise awareness

3. Reach out to new target audience from partner brand

4. Aids and improve new/existing brand equity

5. Further differentiation from competitors

Another surprising co-branding would be Slim-Fast cake mix and Godiva, both brand positioning clashing with each other. However through the co-branding, it has helped improved both brands positioning and appeal to the larger market audience. EG: Slim-Fast cake mix has appeared to be as tasty as Godiva yet retaining its low-calorie factor and Godiva has appeared to be a more health conscious brand.

This is called the Spill-Over effect where co-branding does not only drive sales, but improve brand equity of both brands.

I’ve learned that by challenging traditional norms, it can bring you surprisingly positive results.

References:

Mark Ritson: Apple’s deal with Hermès is a clear signal that it now considers itself a luxury brand

http://www.prodirectsoccer.com/responsive/adidas/there-will-be-haters/adidas-there-will-be-haters-football-collection-football-boots-f50-predator-11pro-nitrocharge.aspx#/

 

Topic 5 Reflective Summary

(Image from: http://sd.keepcalm-o-matic.co.uk/i/act-ethically-and-carry-on-1.png)

To be honest, before this topic was introduced, I’ve never spared a thought about content producers – the people behind all these information we access to on the Internet – and question how these content should be rightfully priced, or not.

After reading through my classmates blogposts, it made me realise that most of us only know of the benefits of Open Resources and would often brush off the concerns of content producers. By doing research on this topic, I’ve learned that content producers point of view plays a big role for us to approach and conclude this issue.

From Vanna’s blog, it has taught me that this issue involves more than just the content producers, but is actually a pile of strings with us, students and businesses entangled in it as well. Through reading Vanna and Amanda’s blog posts, it is further affirmed that content producers are the ones who has more to lose and face the most struggles in their career. Therefore, we could take a more active approach in progressing with this issue and improve the quality of returns for these content producers. It is also an ethical thing to do.

View my comment on Vanna’s blog here

Amanda’s blogpost has a good flow of points, where she addresses several underlying problems regarding this issue and the emphasis is well balanced. She is extremely firm with her stand of how content producers are mainly the ones at disadvantage, and has empowered me to be firmer with mine too.

View my comment on Amanda’s blogpost here

At the end of this Topic, I have learned several perspectives and insights on this issue, and it has further proved my stance on how we should: 1. Put ourselves in the content producer’s shoes, and truly understand their point of view. 2. Be more acceptive towards the idea of “paid online education platforms” in this technology dominant age.

As technology and the world advances, we should too.

Topic 5: Pros & Cons of OER – Content Producer’s P.O.V

(Image from: Online Learning Tips)

This topic requires us to weigh the advantages and disadvantages of offering free accessible content in the eyes of a content producer. However, I’m pretty sure most of us interpreted the question as: Should online content be free, or not? It is in the nature of this topic to spur discussions on price and could easily be the sole focus. But I believe ‘online content’ goes deeper than monetary talks.

Advantages
(in offering free online content)

There are numerous established online learning platforms that offer free courses and materials, one of which is Skill Share. To date, Skill Share has over 1 Million Students with 500,00 projects and classes taught by 1,000 teachers. And the numbers are growing. As Skillshare, alongside other OER platforms, are a rather informal education system, content producers/teachers need not worry about having the right qualifications or the fitting image of a ‘teacher’ to conduct a class. This means that more career opportunities are opening up in the teaching industry.

The digital world exists without a physical form and it’s where information, once posted, are retained on the net almost forever. This gives the content producer long exposure time for their content and as the internet connects people across geographical boundaries, the producer is able to reach a much larger audience. Case in point would be Mary-Kate McDevitt whose first class on SkillShare has 28,000 students enrolled and the nationalities of her students extend beyond USA. This interconnectivity also allows for unrestricted learning where users, or students, can share information and opinions to any corner of the world.

The nature of the digital world allows for unrestricted communication and flexibility. Furthermore, by producing OER, it will be a good experience for content producers who are just beginning to start out.

Disadvantages

As OER uses internet and technology as a medium, it would be difficult to reach into areas with insufficient technology and content will be restricted. One main concern about OER’s is that they are not yet widely understood and accepted by the public, as they still believe in traditional learning – at school. This lack of understanding may spur several legal issues as the public are not used to or unaware of the copyright and licensing issues. This would also raise doubts about the credibility of information and producers may face restrictions in career advancement.

Therefore, with these problems in place, sustainability of sites offering OER is a long-term concern. Content producers should carefully select the safest and well-established platform to produce content for so that their works will not be re-used illegally and unethically.

Now comes the pressing problem: Should online content be free? If these content are free, then what do the producers earn? In my opinion, we should not be restricted to choose within “free” or “pay for physically non-existent content”. I think it would be right if some content requires us to pay, because it’s still a person’s hard work and knowledge. But it is crucial to keep the price low so that individuals can slowly accept the idea. With the advancement of technology and increasing reliance on technology, it has changed how we live and how businesses earn, and it is time to accept this new digital education system.

References:

How Teaching 50,000 Students Changed Mary Kate McDevitt’s Life

7 Things you should know about Open Educational Resources

The Pros and Cons of Open Educational Resources

Become a Skillshare teacher

7 Tips for Young and Young-at-Heart Content Producers

Dramatically Bringing down the cost of education with OER

Topic 4: Reflective Summary

(Image from: http://www.4.bp.blogspot.com)

‘Social Media Ethics’ is such a broadly defined term that spurs endless discussions about varying aspects, but all of which we should be concerned about, as we are all entwined in this digital network.

Through reading my classmate’s blogposts, it has opened up my mind to different perspectives and intrigued me to think deeper into these ethical issues. For this topic I have read Nicole and Chloe’s blogposts as it offers perspectives from both the consumer and business end.

In Nicole’s blog, she talks about the impact social media has on businesses, especially when it’s used in the hands of angry customers. The world has indeed changed. From when businesses have complete control over their image and customer’s opinions are hidden away, to the 21st century where an individual customer’s voice can spread like wildfire, reaching the ears of the mass audience before the company could even react. Although the tables have turned and companies have to be much more mindful about reviews, many customers seem to be abusing this power to spread hate rather than providing constructive reviews. This is a very real issue close to heart as I have personally witnessed the downfalls of businesses due to overly exaggerated negative reviews. The tables have turned, and looks like consumers have to ponder about ethical boundaries and be more aware of their actions.

View my comment on Nicole’s blog here

In Chloe’s blog, she talks about the accuracy of information on social media platforms and urges us to be more skeptical towards what’s presented on the net. In the fast-paced, information saturated network, we could easily fall back and become a ‘digital infant’, where we do not process the information and is simply being spoon fed, like an infant. We may appreciate immediate response but should spare thought about how accurate it is and ponder about the origin and consistency of these information. There are two ends in this digital communication platform; the ones feeding information, and the ones being fed. I think what’s unique about this platform is that an individual, no matter the background or differences, could be at both ends at different time by their own choice.

View my comment on Chloe’s blog here

These blogposts definitely have constructed a whole-rounded perspective and created meaning to my activities on social media.

Social Media Ethics – Topic 4

(Image from: Google)

It has come to our knowledge that the amount of our personal information social media companies possess goes deeper than we think, and with such keen interest on our private information, it has intrigued us to think what they would and could do with all these information. Out of 3 billion active internet users, 2.1 billion have accounts on the various social media platforms, more notably Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram. For each one of us, after getting the basic information (such as email, first and last name, etc), each social media platform has a different, more unique set of follow-up questions to know us better. Furthermore, our activities on these social media platforms are closely observed to infer behavioural characteristics and patterns. Just imagine the amount and depth of information stored in these companies’s database. I’m sure they wouldn’t let these precious information sit idly in their virtual storeroom, but what exactly do they do with it, we’d never be completely sure.

In this age where even businesses move over to the digital world to make money, and where they rely on the quality and quantity of consumer’s information, social media companies database are in such high demands. It makes it easy for the ethical boundaries to be blurred and our private space threatened.

It has become a growing ethical issue that companies are selling private information collected on consumers to third party business (or government) without consumer’s direct consent. For example, with all the information Facebook had collected on its users till 2015, they privately sell it to a growing fashion blogshop where they use it as a shortcut to attracting and retaining customers. Even though there has been debates around this topic, justifying this in the name of harmless consumer marketing or even, National Security, the bottom line is still this: Large companies are making money out of YOUR private information to which you have no consent of. Not to mention, you are not given a slice of the pie.

As our private information are being traded in the digital world, we can move on to talk about why it’s important to keep private information, private and why privacy is important. As quoted from TED: Why Privacy Matters, CEO of Google – the largest search engine system used – answered: “If you’re doing something you don’t want other people to know, maybe you shouldn’t be doing it in the first place”. Corporate leaders are likely to provide answers in an attempt to brush away the pressing concern, but ignores how hypocritical it sounds.

By trading and making businesses out of your customer’s private information, it has seriously violated the trust between your consumer and you. No matter how much control you have, companies should abide to ethical guidelines and place importance on human morals.

References:

CBS News. 2013. The Data Brokers: Selling Your Personal Information. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/data-brokers-selling-personal-information-60-minutes/. [Accessed 09 November 15].

Jeff Bullas. 2014. 33 Social Media Facts and Statistics you should know in 2015. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.jeffbullas.com/2015/04/08/33-social-media-facts-and-statistics-you-should-know-in-2015/. [Accessed 09 November 15].

Forbes. 2011. Facebook’s Privacy Issues Are Even Deeper Than We Knew. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.forbes.com/sites/chunkamui/2011/08/08/facebooks-privacy-issues-are-even-deeper-than-we-knew/. [Accessed 09 November 15].

Forbes. 2011. Ethics and the Five Deadly Sins of Social Media. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.forbes.com/sites/davidvinjamuri/2011/11/03/ethics-and-the-5-deadly-sins-of-social-media/. [Accessed 09 November 15].

TED Talks. 2014. Glenn Greenwald: Why Privacy Matters. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.ted.com/talks/glenn_greenwald_why_privacy_matters#t-182500. [Accessed 09 November 15].

Will we lose ourselves while forging our identity in the virtual world created by mankind? Topic 3, reflective summary.

(Image from: Tumblr)

For the past three topics, we’ve focused our attention on the importance and implications of establishing online identities. Through further readings, we’ve come to fully realise the impact our online identities have on our career opportunities and in this topic, we’ve moved on to specifically talk about the various ways in developing a professional online identity. With all these attention focused on our online image, it has become a pressing concern of mine that we would one day, lose who we are in creating a superficial projection of ourselves online.

The discussions circulate around – listing our most significant milestones on LinkedIn, discouraging us from posting images/comments that might pose as a negative image of us, wrecking our brains just to design the best presentation of who we are and etc.. – just to impress onlookers and potential employers on the web. How about the human characteristics that make us, human? We are flawed, and not every step we take is spectacular or red-carpet worthy, but it seems that an effective online professional identity rejects that aspect.

When internet and social media platforms were created, it was a medium for everyone to express their individuality freely and connect with people all around. It was the age where our online presence were free of scrutiny, but now we meticulously build our online identities to impress. Though many users have learned not the cross the line, there are also users who live their whole lives on the virtual net that is physically non-existent. Here is an article where a social media star revealed that her life was miserable when her only source of satisfaction came from online validation: Social Media Star Essena O’Neill Shares a Tearful Thank You After Her Eye-Opening Instagram Posts Go Viral

I could not deny the opportunities that opened up for all of us with the digital world and technology, but it’s important to understand that online validation, professional or personal aspect, are not ALL that matters.

For this topic, I have commented on Chloe’s and Yishin’s blog post.

Topic 3: Developing a professional online identity

(Image from: https://assets.pando.com/uploads/2014/02/lazy-people-walle.jpg)

It seems that in this digital age and culture, nothing can escape from the reliance of technology. In our daily lives, we’ve come into contact with technology, one way or another. Think about it, to start off, most of us own a smartphone and a Desktop/Laptop which we habitually check every morning, we use a microwave to heat up our breakfast, we tap our cards on the machine while we board a bus, and the list goes on and on…

This reliance on technology drags on into the corporate world, where businesses make use of the abundance of information and connections on the internet to their advantage. Perhaps it’s human’s defensive mechanism acting up, but individuals have a tendency to ‘investigate’ on a matter before they actually come into contact with it (Like googling up reviews of a restaurant before visiting). This applies similarly to corporations, especially when making new hires. They could easily search you up on Google, and in an instant, they know more about you than your neighbour next door.

Which brings me further to talk about the importance and strategies in developing a professional online identity. When we talk about ‘online identity’, we associate it with Facebook, Twitter, Instagram straight away. However, these platforms actually limit the substance of your professional profile.

Online job seekers should in fact fully develop their LinkedIn profile, as it’s the World’s Largest Professional Network. Headhunters from large corporations routinely searches LinkedIn for potential new hires that could bring in fresh perspectives and help further expand the business. The online applicant should include significant career milestones, skill sets and allow employers to know more about them (professionally). Additional useful tips to create effective online profile can be found on How to create effective and professional online profile. However i would like to point out this tip:

(Image from: http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/how-to-create-effective-and-professional-online-pr.html)

This tip discourages applicants to look like jack of all trades, master of none. However, the last part of this saying – but better than master of one – is being left out. Although the qualifications may seem irrelevant to each other, the skills and disciplines attained from these qualifications are sure to work well hand-in-hand. With diverse set of experience and skills, it allows the applicant to be more effective at work. But just make sure you’re a better jack of the trades.

Next, it is crucial to own your own domain and a digital portfolio site. In this digital world and age, being more tech-savvy and connected online associates you to being more updated with the latest trends and strategies. Creating your own online portfolio site is especially important in creative industries, where employers decide whether to hire you based on website presentation. Here are a few sites that feature existing online portfolio sites: Awwwards and Cargo Collective. Awwwards actually allows job seekers to directly apply for jobs on the website itself with their online portfolio.

(Image from: http://www.awwwards.com/jobs/assistant-professor-multimedia-photography-design-syracuse-1.html)

Applicants could build their online identity by the activities they do online, such as making intelligent comments/posts on relevant industry websites. By doing so, applicants could build their own online reputation and attract attention of potential employers. A relevant case in point would be Max Woolf, who’ve built up a reputation with his comments on TechCrunch, attracting contacts from entrepreneurs in the industry. (Read about him more here: Max Woolf Blog)

Lastly, an article have pointed out not to fall into the ‘Facebook Fallacy’, where applicants vigorously build up their professional identity on Facebook. But in actual fact, no employers would specifically search Facebook for talents.

Many people have restricted the idea of online identity to the profiles you create on platforms, but in fact it extends to the activities you conduct online and of course, your real life experiences. The digital world offers endless possibilities and opportunities which stretches out as far as your creativity allow. You could also impress employers with an online resume that truly stands out from the crowd, like what Nina Mufleh did – creating a website resume with a  template similar to Airbnb to present her ideas. (She got the job!)

(Image from: http://nextshark.com/nina-mufleh-airbnb-resume-brian-chesky/)

So, go ahead, make use of the digital world and expand your opportunities.

References:

PC World. 2013. 12 Ways to make your online profile work for you. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/250858/12_ways_to_make_your_online_profile_work_for_you.html. [Accessed 05 November 15].

The Marketing Donut. 2010. What should you include in a professional profile?. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.marketingdonut.co.uk/marketing/online-marketing/social-media-and-online-networking/what-should-you-include-in-a-professional-profile-. [Accessed 05 November 15].

For Dummies. 2015. How to create effective and professional online profiles. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/how-to-create-effective-and-professional-online-pr.html. [Accessed 05 November 15].

Dartmouth University. 2013. 6 steps to creating a professional profile. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.dartmouth.edu/~csrc/docs/linkedin_howto.pdf. [Accessed 05 November 15].

Next Shark. 2015. This Woman’s Innovative ‘Resumé’ Thoroughly Impressed Airbnb’s CEO Read more at: http://nextshark.com/nina-mufleh-airbnb-resume-brian-chesky/#rmns. [ONLINE] Available at: http://nextshark.com/nina-mufleh-airbnb-resume-brian-chesky/. [Accessed 05 November 15].

Max Woolf. 2012. About. [ONLINE] Available at: http://minimaxir.com/about/. [Accessed 05 November 15].

Jobvite. 2014. How Employers are Recruiting. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.jobvite.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Jobvite_SocialRecruiting_Survey2014.pdf. [Accessed 05 November 15].

BBC News. 2013. Job Hunting: How to promote yourself online. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.bbc.com/news/business-25217962. [Accessed 05 November 15].

Awwwards. 2015. Job Board. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.awwwards.com/jobs/. [Accessed 05 November 15].

Reflective Summary: Topic 2

(Image from: http://www.walltowatch.com/view/5355)

I’ve come to conclusion that many people would easily create more than one online identities for themselves due to the popularity and impact of social media websites but there a few issues that are constantly being addressed in various blog posts.

Even though multiple online identities are widely accepted and encouraged, it has been revolving around these few key issues.

1. Ethics

Multiple online identities are created as an expression of an individual’s creativity, as it is a most common intention. However, many use it unethically to cheat and deceive other users online by creating false identities that are entirely different from who they are, with reference from Renu’s blog (Article: Weird Reasons people make up false identities online).

No matter what you do online, one should always adhere to the ethical guideline of not bringing harm to a third party user.

2. Excessively sharing of information

There seems to be a thin line between building your profiles and excessively sharing your personal information online that many people have seemed to cross. Perhaps it is due to the lack of knowledge on the risks and dangers in the digital world, but divulging personal information has lured identity thieves and fraud. Check out this article where a simple act of taking a selfie with your latest paycheque has led a group of users to being victims of identity theft: Teenagers really need to stop posting their paycheques on instagram and another serious identity theft case: Someone had taken over my life

One should know his/her limits and not go overboard sharing his/her personal information as it has no limits as to who views it.

I have commented on Yishin’s and Huimin’s blogpost as it has included external digital sources which provided valuable insight on online identities and anonymity.

After these 2 topics, I am more keen to learn about the issues in the digital world and will definitely strive to produce better quality blogposts in the future.