Managing a Positive Digital Footprint

On the very first day that students enter my classroom they have little knowledge of what we actually "DO" in Personal Branding. "This is the Twitter class, right?" is usually the first question I am asked, even before I have had a chance to introduce myself. They have heard bits and pieces from their friends who have taken my class in the past about using Twitter...making videos...writing blogs...something about a logo, and now they are determined to find out if the rumors of a Facebook class are true.

Partly...they are. High school students who enroll in my Personal Branding course WILL use all types of social media platforms. But first, they will engage in a number of lessons related to positive online behavior. In other words, creating a positive digital footprint. Utilizing lessons from a variety of sources, including the Common Sense Media toolkit students are tasked with understanding the DO's and DON'TS of online behavior. Digital ethics, copyrights and wrongs, appropriate posting behaviors and sexting are only a few of the topics that we study prior to ever actually using social media sites in class.

                "But they are already using social media!"

I knew that was coming and I too am realistic. Most students are already Liking, Tweeting, SnapChatting, posting to Youtube, and sharing pictures with their friends on Instagram. This actually works to my advantage. Instead of having to spend an enormous amount of time instructing students on the "HOW'S" we can instead focus on the "WHAT'S".

          WHAT should we be sharing on Facebook and Twitter? WHAT types of videos can we                       create to help build our brands? Who is our target audience and WHAT do they want to see?

Many of the student's realize very early on that what they knew about social media was very basic and rarely ever accomplished much more than a text message could. Those were the lucky ones. Other students come to the embarrassing conclusion that what they had been using social media for was potentially damaging their brand and may in fact project an image far from positive. Blogger Lauren Riley wrote a great post titled How to clean up Your Digital Footprint and Your Online Identity, which I share with students who may be in this unfortunate group.

"Personal Branding", I tell them "is all about figuring out the most positive things there are to know about YOU, documenting those things and sharing them with anyone who will listen." We attempt to lay some ground rules, promote online safety and post only those things that allow us to stand out from the competition in a positive manner.



Do you know of a student who was affected either positively or negatively because of their digital footprint? If so, I would love to hear how, so that I may pass along the experience to my students.