Online Footprint Analysis

This assignment is designed to help you identify what information about you exists that you may or may not have control over managing. Please take this seriously and complete the assignment as completely and with as much imagination as you can.

Initial Steps

Use several search engines to search your own name. You can also try Google’s facial recognition or image search tools too.

Be sure to keep track of which search engines yield which details.

Search also on Facebook, Myspace, Google+, Twitter, Instagram, or any social networking site. Log out of that site if you have an account. Search your name.

Note that you may have to try searching with your name in quotes or with your city or schools as well. Experiment with different configurations.

Description of Results

What kinds of information turns up?

What images appear?

How recent or old is this information?

Is this content you developed or is posted by someone else?

Is the information about you actually you, or others with your same name?

Impressions

What kind of footprints about you are online?

What is your brand, based on what you see?

Are the images or details positive or negative?

What kinds of impressions could someone, like an employer, have about you, based on this information?

What kinds of red flags are there, or what kinds of concerns would you have about hiring someone with that kind of information online?

Next Steps

What steps can you take to change your online “brand?”

Is there information you want removed? Is there positive information you want to add or build?

Concluding Thoughts:

What do you think of the information and how is it helpful?

Details:

• This will be 2-4 pages double-spaced
• You need to have each section but do not need to answer every question in each section if they are not relevant
• You should bring in at least two readings from the course in your discussion