Category: Digital Literacy

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Great Google Moogly

It was fascinating to search terms and see how Google is actively constructing our perceptions of occupational and gender roles. All of the terms were closely related to perceived cultural norms and biases within my geographic region.  This reminds me of a theory that I learnt from my technology class from my undergrad called technological determinism. This theory makes the assumption that the technology in society ultimately determines cultural values and subsequently is the driver of social change. Both the technology and economy of a society create its unique cultural practices and perceptions. I found this to be particularly evident while I was Googling various terms including doctor, professor, nurse, boy, and girl. Without realizing it, every time we Google something, technology is impacting our cultural values, perceptions, and social relations below our threshold for conscious perception. Evidently, technology is affecting us at the subliminal level.

While searching for a leadership article, I tried to incorporate the recommendations that Warner suggested in his article. I searched in Google Scholar “related: leadership site:CA.” This helped refine my search to Canadian scholarly-acclaimed journals on the topic of leadership.

In order to find an article that is related to my industry, I searched “interior design + business + marketing” in which I found an exceptionally useful article:

Again, I used Warner’s recommendations to find a local podcast called The Surrey Experience by searching “podcast + Surrey”:

This was a useful activity because it will be a foundational skill to have while seeking reputable articles as I work to complete the MA of Leadership.

Christina

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Finding U

On a monthly basis, I Google myself to ensure that nothing has popped up that I wouldn’t want employers to see. If one does come up, I actively ask Google  to take it down because I try to carefully curate my digital identity. As such, when I performed an image search on Google, Yahoo, Bing, and DuckDuckGo, there was nothing unexpected besides an out-of-date LinkedIn photo. When I search my name, my Facebook and LinkedIn profile are the first two things that show up. In addition to my social media accounts, my personal bio on my employer’s website comes up in the search results. Apart from that, I did not see any negative portrayals of famous people with my name. For the most part, average people showed up and there wasn’t anything too concerning.

In the image below, the two pictures that show up on my Yahoo and Bing search results were outdated LinkedIn pictures that should be removed.

I actively partake in self censorship by refraining from overtly sharing my thoughts and opinions online because I feel that posts and articles can be taken out of context. I believe that engaging in face to face discussions is the most affective way to persuade and to convey my opinions to others. However, Shaffer reminded me of the importance of having a deliberate, public, digital identity in today’s world. To avoid being left behind, I do support his stance that it is important to stay current by maintaining a digital identity in order to have a robust and vibrant professional network.  However, being deliberate is the key take-home point.

In regards to Bonnie’s 6 ‘selves’, I would definitely consider myself to be the Asynchronous Self.  Coincidently, the other day I was having a discussion with a family member about how I have decided that I likely will not get a landline because the ring is so “intrusive.” Unlike a cellphone that can be silenced, a landline disrupts and demands our attention immediately.

According to a third party search:

Christina has both a LinkedIn and Facebook profile. Based on her LinkedIn profile, it is evident that she went to school in Ottawa and now works in British Columbia. She also has a bio on Cara Interiors, which indicates that she operates the business side. There is little information on the internet about Christina so one would have to contact her through her social media accounts to learn more about her.

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Tracking the Trackers

Ever since I took a technology course in my undergrad, I have been very careful about my privacy online so a few years ago I installed an add-on for Google Chrome called Disconnect. Disconnect also blocks and tracks tracking websites on every website that I visit. Similar to Lightbeam, I can hover over the icon to see how many trackers are tracking me on any particular website that I am surfing. The Disconnect graph shows every individual website that would have sent some of my personal information. Both Lightbeam and Disconnect reveal the overwhelming amount of third party websites that are tracking our personal information as we visit websites that we would otherwise consider to be “safe”.

After doing some research, I discovered that Google Chrome generally keeps cookies for approximately 90 days. After visiting a few websites that I frequently visit including Investing Guru, Expedia, Shopify, and Facebook, I found that Expedia had the most third party tracking websites.

This exercise was a good reminder to be conscious and mindful of my online privacy by regularly and consistently clearing my cookies as well as continuing to use add-ons to block tracking websites.

Christina

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Digital Literacy

Considering how heavily intertwined and integrated social media is within contemporary society, I consider myself to be a fairly digitally literate individual because I am very conscientious as to what I post and what opinions I share. While studying in my undergrad, I learnt how social media has impacted people’s lives years later when “skeletons in the closet” emerged to haunt the present, costing them political and corporate executive careers. Since that class, I have aimed to keep a low profile on social media by carefully curating what information is connected to me whether that be articles I share, opinions I write, or pictures I post.

Although I don’t have any personal experiences of the negative effects of social media, I am quite familiar of companies that have had enormous backlash from the public in response to their tweets or advertisements due to their poor discretion and lack of digital literacy. One company that comes to mind is Adidas. The company sent out an email to runners that completed the 2017 Boston Marathon with the subject reading “Congrats, you survived the Boston Marathon.” This follows the horrific tragedy that took place during the  2013 Boston Marathon whereby 3 people were killed and 260 were injured. As a result of this poor PR decision, social media erupted with backlash due to the company’s lack of sensitivity.  Evidently, this demonstrates that digital illiteracy can cost a company millions.

Currently, I like to keep in touch with friends and family on Facebook and Instagram, and for industry updates and professional  purposes, I use Twitter and LinkedIn. However, this article was a good reminder to be mindful as to what is posted because it can have catastrophic repercussions to not only one’s career but also one’s reputation as illustrated in the case of Justine Sacco.

Christina