My Vanity Search: Part 2
Ok, so I have been working in the web 2.0 world for 6 weeks now doing everything I can to expand my digital footprint, and it kind of ticked me off to search Lowell Gabbert and the first result on Google was an obituary for William Lowell Gabbert. What the _ ? All that work for nothing. ;) My lacrosse website is still up at the top of the results, so mcla.us must do some serious SEO work.
As far as additions to my digital presence go, my YouTube channel has finally made an appearance due to the materials I created for my Web 2.0 tools class. Most of the videos I kept unlisted, but a few from the beginning when I didn’t know the difference are still public. Also, my newly created Twitter page came in at number four on my top search results.
The biggest surprise of my initial Lowell Gabbert search was a pinterest page. If you follow the link, you see that there isn’t anything posted to it, and to be honest, I had no idea I even created one. I think this was associated with my old Google Plus account. That’s kind of scary to think you can be creating accounts and widening your digital presence without even knowing.
After feedback from my professor and classmates, I did take the advice to expand my search parameters to see what results would be included by adding my middle name Lowell Gaines Gabbert to my search. Instantcheckmate.com showed a wealth of personal information including current and previous addresses, close relatives, and an old phone number. Thankfully, there wasn’t much else turning up with that search term. Adding my place of employment to my name did not add any results to my search.
As an educator, my expanding footprint has implications for the way students, parents, and current/potential employers view my educational philosophy and how they judge my capability to be an effective teacher. Whether we like it or not, school is not taught in a vacuum. I would like to believe that I can say whatever I want on the web and still be able to teach my students effectively, but perception shapes how much someone will let you in, how much they trust you. Whether it be the pictures I post on Facebook or the videos I create and make public on YouTube, I must carefully curate my content to make sure that I am presenting the right brand. I also think of my digital presence within the edtech industry. Blogs, social media, and video channels are analogous to industry publications in other disciplines, so it is important to develop a brand that shows awareness of current trends to gain credibility amongst peers and colleagues.
As for my students, privacy settings become more and more important. I effectively doubled my web presence in 6 weeks, and students now have a lifetime of web interaction that dwarfs my fifteen years of part-time involvement. I think about my son when I think about this topic. At the age of 1, he already has more pictures of himself online than I do. His vanity search will be a retelling of his entire life. This lack of privacy can influence his ability to make first impressions, to change opinions, and to make friends. I hope my students as well as my son can take control of their information and reign in the free window into their personal lives to show the world the side of themselves that they consciously present.
