Information Technology Blog: Your Digital Footprint

courtesy of :digitalfamilysummit.com

Did you know that you leave a digital footprint every time you get online? Whatever you do online is accumulated into a digital dossier traceable by others . Everyone needs to be concerned with their online identity and privacy.

Managing your digital identity takes time and skill. In a world that is so digitally focused, the boundaries between the real and virtual are sometimes blurred. The purpose of this is to help everyone understand digital responsibility while online.

1) Learn what a digital footprint is -

"A digital footprint is the collection of all the traces you leave in electronic environments as you use or move through them. Some is content you actively volunteer—like your Facebook profile. Other material is passive—the cookies a site stores in your browser, the content your district collects about your use of their equipment, etc. All this data can be aggregated to build a profile of you and your behavior" (
Kharbach, 2013)

2) Ask yourself: What a prospective employer learn about you looked up online?

Is there anything online that you wouldn't want you rprospective employer, parents, faculty, to know about you ?

3) Do you know what is in your Digital Dossier? - These are all the digital items in your life. Some you create and some are created for you my friends, family, and employers. Watch the 4 minute video to see how items are added to your Digital Dossier.

4) Google (www.google.com) & Pipl (https://pipl.com/) can help you learn about your digital footprint is - Both of these search tools are great ways to start learning about your digital footprint.

5) Managing your digital footprint with these tips:

Never post anything that you might find embarrassing later in life.
Be careful with the pictures you post on your public profiles. Remember others will see them and judge you based on their content.
Change the privacy settings on your social networking sites so that only your Friends can see your information
Do not disclose your personal address, phone number, passwords. Bank card numbers...etc even in private messages. There is always the possibility of somebody hacking into your account and finding them.
Do not post things to might upset others, insult, or afflict any kind of harm on others
Always keep in mind that once information has been posted online, it can be almost impossible to remove because of archiving and file sharing. Even though you deactivate your accounts, the information may still be retrieved by others.