dressing for success in cyberspace

Dressing for Success

in CyberspaceGiving Yourself a Digital Make-Overand

Managing Your Digital Brand

Copyright © 2014, Courtney Shelton Hunt - all rights reserved

Copyright © 2014, Courtney Shelton Hunt - all rights reserved2

You pride yourself on your professional appearance and demeanor.

You strive to create and maintain a strong identity and reputation within your organization, with your clients and peers, and in your

industry.

But are you as diligent a custodian of your professional brand in cyberspace as you are in the physical world?

If not, you probably need a digital make-over…

For additional details on the tips presented here, check out this related blog post.

http://denovati.com/2014/03/giving-yourself-a-digital-make-over

Food for Thought Everyone has a digital identity –

whether they want one or not Our digital identity and brand may

be more public and powerful than how we’re known and perceived in the physical world

If we can make time to take care of our physical appearance and put our best foot forward on earth, we should also make time to take care of our digital appearance and put our best foot forward in the cloud


Are you willing to make time to do things that are important to you, like get your hair done or go to the gym?

Would you leave the house without any pants on – or in torn/dirty clothes?

Steps in a Digital Make-Over

Step 1: Review and Critique– Conduct internet searches on yourself– Evaluate your public profile on social media

platforms– Get someone else to critique specific

accounts/activity Step 2: Make-Over Step 3: Maintenance


Conduct Internet Searches on Yourself

On major search engines like Google and Bing, use:– Different combinations of your name

and aspects of your professional identity

– Nicknames you may have used when engaging in digital activity

It’s also a good idea to include a spouse/partner’s name and to search on particular aspects of your personal life


What to Look for in Search Results

Publicly available information and activity you thought was private

References to and/or information about you shared by others

Potentially embarrassing or misunderstood images and/or content


Personal activities, affiliations, and perspectives that may impact your professional life (rightly or wrongly)

Potential cases of mistaken identity

Review your Public SM Profiles

Find and review your public profile to see how it appears to people to whom you’re not connected on sites like LinkedIn, Facebook, and GooglePlus

Other profiles to check include these and more (it’s a potentially long list!):– Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest– Blog(s), Tumblr– YouTube, SlideShare, Quora, Klout– Box.com, VisualCV, about.me

Don’t forget to look at accounts you don’t use anymore too


What to Look for in SM Profiles

Content that is incomplete, out of date, and/or inaccurate

Potentially embarrassing or misunderstood images and/or content, as well as those that could undermine your professional brand


Typos and grammatical errors Broken links Publicly-displayed information

you’d like to keep private


Get Someone Else to Review Too

Ask someone you– Trust to give an honest opinion– Think has a good eye for detail– Could do a quid pro quo exchange with

Identify the platforms/activity to concentrate on based on your digital engagement and sophistication

Have them look for the same things you did - and more!

Step 2: Make-Over Delete risky content when/where you can Board up digital properties you no longer use Lock the doors that need to be locked Make sure your front porches are presentable by

updating your public profiles to fix identified issues


Direct people to the “right” you, and make yourself easy to find by designating a hub or home base


Deleting Risky Content

Is it deletable?

Do you have control over it?

Be prepared to discuss it if/when

necessary

Delete it

Ask the person who added it to

either delete it or unlink it from your

identity

Yes No

YesNo If they don’t


Tidying Up Details Boarding up properties– Close (and delete?) accounts you no longer plan to

use– Hang “we’ll be back” signs if you think you’ll

return– Redirect people to active presences

Locking doors– Change privacy settings on certain types of

activities or specific shares– Disconnect from people you don’t know well

enough to trust on specific platforms

Step 3: Maintenance

Review and update your public profiles

Choose your friends wisely


Think before you tweet, comment, update, blog, etc. Set up internet search alerts at regular intervals Keep a current inventory of your digital properties Review and clean up your digital inventory

periodically

See related blog post for detailed tips

http://denovati.com/2014/03/giving-yourself-a-digital-make-over

ABOUT THE DENOVATI GROUP

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The Denovati… Pronunciation guide: day-no-VAH-tee Deconstructing the term:– DE = Digital Era– NOV = short for novani, Latin for colonists, immigrants,

new residents– ATI = those who seek knowledge and/or are in the know

The Denovati areDigital Era explorers, pathfinders and pioneers

who seek to understand and effectively leverage social and digital technologies

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The Denovati GroupCourtney Shelton Hunt, PhDCourtney is the Founder and Principal of The Denovati Group and an international consultant, speaker, teacher, and writer. Her background in business development, communications, human capital management, information technology, and academia, combined with her business acumen, enables her to provide a unique holistic perspective and strategic leadership to organizations.

The Denovati Group enhances the success of individuals and organizations in the Digital Era through an alliance that provides thought leadership and guidance, research, consulting and training services, and a professional community that fosters the sharing of information and best practices. These objectives are accomplished primarily through:• SMART Resources (including the SMART Blog)• Denovati Solutions• SMART Courses

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Visit denovati.comto learn more about who we are, what we do, and what we offer

http://www.linkedin.com/in/cshunt312

http://denovati.com/

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Denovati Digital Network

Click here to learn more and join us on one or more platforms

http://denovati.com/denovati-digital-network

http://denovati.com/denovati-digital-network

dressing for success in cyberspace

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