Digital Identity and Personal Learning Networks

The greek mask
Originally uploaded by giopuo

I am going to do a series of posts reflecting on how I currently use the web in a productive way as a senior manager and Head of New Ventures inside a non-departmental public body.
Please note this reflects what I do in my own comfort zone in balancing work, productivity and social space. It may not be the right recipe for you or for the organisation you work for.
If you work in most industries you will now have some digital presence either created by you, a friend who tags photographs of you at the office Christmas party, by a journalist or a commentator or simply from the footprints of attendances at conferences participated in. Ideally this is not in a news piece that combines all of the above which could be career stopping or stalling.

Whether you like it or not you will have a digital identity of some kind and this series offers some pointers on how you might manage this.

You should have an Online Profile that is maintained by you. You can choose how much or how little you share. I use Plaxo, Linkedin and Facebook.

Plaxo has improved functionality recently but I regard it as a legacy tool - I did use it to synchronise personal and work contacts when I was on the move - before my organisation gave me the facility to access my address book on the move.I am still hanging in there to see if it gets better.
Linkedin - I now use for professional workbased contacts and network building. It presents my professional face. I take my job seriously but not myself reflecting current trends I use a digitally enhanced image of myself as a Simpsons character. I use this as a link back to anything that requires a professional profile. Linkedin has been a useful tool for cementing relationships across the diverse sectors I operate in.
Facebook - I try to restrict to people I know well, close friends and family. The challenge here is that here are increasingly interesting groups on Facebook reflecting my professional interests. I also subject all my facebook friends to my twitter stream - which I am sure they will eventually complain about.