This week I did a data mine on my self to take a look at my
digital tattoo. A digital tattoo is someone's online actions that are
PERMANENTLY online, floating in the web. The information posted online is
much like a skin tattoo, as it cannot be easily removed from the site. It
is the same as a digital footprint, but tattoo sounds so much more
severe. It is because of this digital tattoo that I try not to use my
full name or I drop a few letters off of it. I don't like having all of
my information so easily accessed. I know, because of public record, there
is a lot out there that I cannot control. It is scary!
I first went to Google, which I've done in the past.
I expected to see the same things I've seen in the past, my name associated
with my high school and some miscellaneous people search sites. I was
surprised to see someone with my name and a very busy online presence.
This Geri Bartuch has an Instagram account (@madetosharetocare. I logged
onto a site called Pikdo, which came up under Google. This site shows her
tweets and photos. She describes herself as a Professional Lifestyles
Blogger. I looked myself up under Pikdo, with my Instagram name,
geribrtch, as well. I am definitely not a Professional Lifestyles
Blogger! We are complete opposites. Take a look at the number of
followers!
via Pikdo
What did surprise me on the Google search was finding my
teacher web site. I thought this could only be accessed through our
school web site. Stranger still, my teacher website is under
Geraldine Bartuch, as is everything associated with school, not Geri.
I found my students' pictures that were posted on my teacher site under Google
images! We have permission to use student pictures on our web sites and
the school's website, but again, I thought it was private.
from my website
I found a site called Raingrande.com, which is the similar to Pikdo. It shows how many followers and
posts you have on Twitter and Instagram.
There was not much about me on that site. I wouldn't access it because it
kept causing my virus scan to block malicious threats.
I logged onto Nuwber, PeopleFinders, and Truthfinder and found basically the same information, name, both Geri and Geraldine, my age, home address, two old work addresses and old home telephone number and old work numbers. Fast People Search was the most accurate and thorough for free. It had my name and home address and work addresses. It also included my home number work numbers and cell phone number. I was surprised to see my cell phone number listed. What was really scary was that it had aliases, every possible combination of my name, including misspellings! It showed my current address and Google Earth images of my house.
I also went to the Better Government Association, and found my salary,and my co-workers', under the Data and Tools tab. Interesting!
Facebook showed an old account under my name that I got locked out of and haven't been able to access for years. My current account uses the same name as my Instagram and Twitter accounts, so nothing came up because I don't use the correct spelling of my name.
However, in this day and age it is important to have an
online presence. Employers do look for you online and it is important
that they see that you are up on technology. It's important to make our
students aware of this, even at this young age! They are constantly
adding to their digital tattoo! I am going to work on having more of a
professional presence online, where I will use the correct spelling of my
name! I will still keep it separate from my personal online
presence.
Resources:
Hi, Geri. I'm surprised that your school didn't tell you that the sites were public. I'm really glad my websites didn't show up because I only want my students seeing those images, etc. I would ask your kids if they are okay with the fact that they can be found in Google images and take down the photos if they are not because of the digital tattoo, and they might be afraid of what others will do with those photos. Young people use Photoshop and other meme makers to manipulate photos, and they might even reblog or retweet them once they are out there for everyone to grab.
ReplyDeleteHi Lauren, Fortunately, all of the parents signed off on their child being photographed for the school and district web site.
DeleteFor some reason, I thought teacher web sites were private.
After this 8 weeks together you've definitely improved your online professional presence!
ReplyDeleteYou're not kidding! This class has been way outside the box for me! You made a good point in your screencasts, employers look for some online presence as proof that you are keeping up with online technology. This is especially important in education.
ReplyDeleteGeri, thanks for posting a link to the Better Government Association. This is the first time I saw that website and I have to admit that I looked up quite a few people. Also, I have to agree with you on one of your opening statements that what we do online most of the time is permanent. I remember when social media started to develop and one service called Hi5 was the new thing. I have pictures and comments on there (an account that I haven't used in over 8 years, but available if you google it) and I wish I could close it. But that's just another example of how our young ones have access to the internet and coupled with their inexperience it's a bad formula.
ReplyDelete