Networks and identities: towards an optimal management of digital identity

Digital identity: what is it and how can we show our best version on the networks?

Our digital identity is becoming more and more digital identityour virtual "I" in the network of networks is becoming more and more present and widespread. The question is... do we know how to manage it properly?

If you were born in the 90s or later, you should know that you belong to what has been you belong to what has been called the Google generation generation or digital natives: people who have not known the absence of the Internet. In fact, if you have reached this page and this article, it is thanks to the ease of access to information, communication and resources that exists today.

We participate in all this framework by creating social profiles that we share with others and that show our status, thoughts, desires, emotions, interests, work or personal life. It is well known that, in their selection process, more and more companies are taking into account the profile of LinkedIn, Facebook o Twitter to contrast the experience included in our curriculum vitae when we apply for a job.

Should our digital identity match our digital identity with our analogical identitya (our "face-to-face self")? Yes and no.

The digital identity

The management of one's personal digital identity is defined as the ability to successfully manage one's visibility, reputation and privacy on the network.. In these three terms are included certain issues to take into account.

You are visible, if you are on the networks you are part of them. But But the important thing is how this visibility benefits you or if on the contrary it can be detrimental to you.. It all depends on what you share and on the pages in which you participate.

Being visible is more essential every day and your profile is a reflection of your dedication to a specific topic, so it adds value to what you work on or what you believe in. You can reach people and places you could not reach in the analog world, since the digital era crosses borders.

Therefore, whatever your profession or passion is, you can search for it, inform yourself, participate or dare to create an environment related to that topic that can become a point of diffusion or meeting point for people who share common interests with you, a node. Networks provide you with a unique opportunity to foster good connections and find new ones and look for new ones that will make you improve and grow.

• Beware that the network also has its negative side: "Depersonalization and (in)communication in social networks".

The added value of authenticity

However, being visible in the digital environment does not imply to stop being one in life beyond the screens.. We cannot always stay on the other side of the screen. We have to interact and show that the interest we show in our digital profile corresponds to our performance in real life and the consistency (or absence of contradictions) of what is shown in the digital environment.

Online reputation

The reputation of the digital identity is measured by the impact of what you share or show on your profile.. According to Bancal, the tools for measuring online reputation are blog search engines, social meta engines, written comment tracking tools, microblogs, social networks and online people search engines.

But the reputation of our identity is more than the tools in which it is compromised, it is the use we make of them and the behavior we have in them. And this is where, on most occasions, there is an advantage that our face-to-face "I" does not have when it comes to displaying behaviors that may be out of placeThere is the option of turning off the computer and answering later in a more reflective way and not so influenced by the negative emotions that you may experience in a particular situation. In this way you can avoid undesirable behavior that is neither desirable nor really helpful in solving the problem and you will be able to better compose an opinion or a message.

Therefore, it is possible to "escape" momentarily from that situation and take it up again in better conditions to be more objective in what we are going to show to others to be useful, beneficial and interesting. About this, Dennis O'Reilly said about Internet privacy that "the best way to protect your privacy online is to assume you don't have it and modify your online behavior accordingly."

Privacy is still a value

It is very important to keep in mind that networks should not be a place to pour out our problems explicitly and openly to everyone. explicitly and openly to everyone. Obviously, freedom of expression is not under discussion, but we cannot fall into the error of disseminating data or issues whose dissemination causes problems and solves little or nothing. The right thing to do is to communicate what we want to say to the specific people to whom we want to get the message across.

It is a question of asking ourselves if our face-to-face self would communicate it in a large square where many people gather and where, in addition, the message would be engraved on the ground. Let's not lose the excuse of to meet for a coffee to see the person we need to solve the problem or simply to be able to communicate our status in a sincere and private way.

Some tips for managing our identity on the Internet

These are some of the recommendations for managing your digital identity properly:

1. Honesty and skills 2.

Create our digital identity honestly but enhancing and adapting our skills and behavior according to the people to whom we and behavior according to the people to whom we address the message.

2. Presence and influence

Expand our presence in the network and find our own nest where we can disseminate useful, interesting and valuable informationinformation that is useful, interesting and adds value to our work or interests.

3. Adequacy

Reflect before writing. Aeed our message and share it with the people with whom we really want to share it.. It should not be forgotten that problems are best dealt with personally and "live".

4. Do not forget the face-to-face

Take care of the digital and the face-to-face: both are important scenarios where we can nurture, inform and interact. Managed in the right way enhance your identity so that the message they give about you is coherent.

And this is where the question arises: Will we distinguish in the future between digital identity and analog identity?

Bibliographic references:

• Damien et al.; Ogez, Emilie (coord.). (2009). Cultivate your digital identity. Retrieved from http://issuu.com/geemik/docs/cultivez_votre_identite_numerique
• O'Reilly, Dennis. (2007). "Five ways to protect your privacy online". Cnet News.