Managing your online professional identity

Abstract

EDITOR'S SUMMARY Confusion around names and identity features can undermine professional standing, but it can be avoided by carefully managing one's online personal and professional identity. It is advisable to routinely check hits on one's name online to be sure desired information is not clouded by mistakes or misinformation or overshadowed by another with the same name. Professionals should create personal e-portfolios and tie them to LinkedIn and other appropriate social networking sites. Active participation on those sites helps boost search returns tied with one's professional identity. Promotional websites such as Vizilibity.com can be made more effective by adding keywords to highlight interests and achievements, while MyWebCareer.com evaluates one's networking profile. By customizing privacy settings, one can limit access to personal information. Managing personal information takes time but is critical to be sure online information accurately represents your identity. KEYWORDSpersonal information social web social networking knowledge management