Source: Yahoo News
Most Singaporean should remember this infamous story which saw an NTUC Assistant Director fired for posting racist remarks on Facebook. Amy Cheong the NTUC Assistant Director has a single online identity on Facebook, which combines both her personal and professional identities. At the heat of the moment, an ‘unintended’ remark ruined her career. Personally, this incident has forced me to review our interactions on social media and has also changed the way I post on public domains.
But before delving into what am I, let’s take a look at what network identity is.
Source: Self-produced Via Piktochart, using information from Futurelearn (2017)
I believe that different people will use a different approach to network identity. As it higher depends on our digital difference. A resident would most likely have multiple identities while a visitor would have a single identity.
I choose to use the “single identity” approach to the Web. As said from Topic 1, I am more of a digital visitor compare to being a digital resident. Hence, most of the cons for single identity does not reflect on me. I find the single identity approach to be more convenient and it allows others to connect with me. At the same time, I give others the authenticity feel.
After #MANG2049, I find myself growing from a digital visitor to a digital resident. It made me realised that I have to integrate the use of “single identity” approach and I need to start “defining” my identity. For example, I have to “Clean Up” my social media account such as deleting inappropriate post or photos and improving my privacy and security by changing the settings.
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Reference:
FutureLearn. (2017). What is your network identity? – Learning in the Network Age – University of Southampton. [online] Available: https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/learning-network-age/3/steps/263025
Jeanette Tan (2012). NTUC Fires Assitant Director. [online] Available: https://sg.news.yahoo.com/ntuc-assistant-director-says-sorry-for-racist-post.html
Reputation Defender (2016). Digital Identity: What is it, and Why is so important to manage? [online] Available : https://reputationdefendertestimonials.com/digital-identity-important-manage/
White, D. and Le Cornu, A. (2011). Visitors and Residents: A new typology for online engagement. [online] Available: http://firstmonday.org/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/3171/3049
Julian Seah 
Hi Julian! Attracting blog title! I love the structure of your post! It’s nice and neat.
Your post has reminded me the news! In this digital era, we are free to express our opinion publicly but some people just simply abuse the freedom of speech.I believe that there are many digital citizens who behave similarly as Amy Cheong nowadays…
Obviously, this is the drawback of having a single identity.
This may be prevented by separating personal and professional account, however, in this case, the personal branding does matter. She will still be exposed even though she turns herself into multiple identities as she has a bad online attitude, which has a critical impact on her reputation.
I was impressed by what Warren Buffet had said: “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it”.
In this one minute video has explained the significance of sculpting a solid personal brand.
What solution do you think Amy should apply in order to repair her damaged reputation? I would like to hear from you!
Thank you,
Tiew Xin Yu 🙂
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References:
YouTube: The Importance of Personal Branding And Your Reputation In Your Career. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Nq70TQMqDs [Accessed 21 November 2017].
X, R. (2017) Reputation X: Why is Reputation Important?. Available from: https://blog.reputationx.com/why-is-reputation-important [Accessed 21 November 2017].
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Hi Xin Yu,
Thank you for taking your time to read my blog post as well as commenting. I totally agree with the Warren Buffet’s quote of “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it”.
If I am Amy Cheong, I would start rebuilding my reputation by using 5 ways together.
1) Apologise
2) Polite reaction when addressing criticism
3) Learning from mistake
4) Monitor what others saying about you
5) Regain respect from others
In conclusion, it will not be an easy journey to rebuild the reputation. But reputation is important as who you are online is similar as to who you are offline.
References:
Dann Albright (2015). How Your Online Reputation Can Get Damaged & How to Fix It. [online] Available: http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/online-reputation-can-get-damaged-fix/
Wright IMC. Online Reputation Management. [online] Available: https://wrightimc.com/online-reputation-management-strategies-for-rookies/
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Yea, that is true.
The journey to rebuild the reputation is really tough and sometimes it will make it worse as what a people have done, it has already built a conscious in others mind. But it is not impossible to rebuild it.
Thanks for sharing the startegies on how to rebuild damaged reputation, Julian!
However, do you think that people who abusing the usage of internet should be solved effectively? From my opinion, people should be well-educated on how to better use with internet as well as a better digital literacies in order to reduce the abusement of internet in the future.
http://smallbusiness.chron.com/negative-effect-social-media-society-individuals-27617.html
As a digital citizen, a proper behavior is truly needed to create a better digital environment.
Cheers,
Xin Yu.
References:
Smallbusiness.chron.com: The Negative Effect of Social Media on Society and Individuals. Available from: http://smallbusiness.chron.com/negative-effect-social-media-society-individuals-27617.html [Accessed 21 November 2017].
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Hi Julian! I like the local reference you made about Amy Cheong thoughtless remarks and how the backlash imploded her life. I can agree with you, that particular incident made me reevaluate my interactions on Social Media and my digital presence on public domains.
You have sparked my interest when you mentioned that you have chosen a single identity approach as a digital resident. Singular identities have a risk of identity thief; a recent statistic found that “account takeover attacks are sailing up among the biggest cybersecurity threats that online businesses and consumers are currently facing” (Account Takeover: A cyberattack on the rise, 2016).
Hacker bots can takeover the user’s account that might potentially hurt the user’s reputation, lose valuable personal information and even sell your credit card information on the dark web. What can be done to protect yourself from identity thief?
Is there are way to be authentic even with multiple identities? I would love to hear your thoughts!
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Reference:
Account Takeover: A cyberattack on the rise, 2016. Data Dome: Account Takeover: A cyberattack on the rise (online). Retrieved from: https://datadome.co/blog-account-takeover/
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Hi Marianne,
Thank you for taking your time to read my blog post as well as commenting!
I chose the single identity approach based on my digital difference. I believe that different types of identities depend on how you use the Web for interaction. For me personally, I am more of a digital visitor compare to a digital resident. Having multiple identities will cause me much inconvenience. I protect my identity by making all of my social media account private as well as only accepting friends that I know of. As for my personal information, I would not share any of those online except my email address. I believe being caution will help to protect myself. Maybe in the near future, I will convert to using multiple identities when I am more active on the Web. Having multiple identities does not stop identity theft but only reduce it. Therefore, it highly depends on the user.
I believe that having multiple identities can still be authentic. At the end of the day, you are the same person behind all those online identities. If I am using multiple identities, I would cater different social media platforms for different purposes such as Facebook for personal and WordPress for work. This will allow me to have a clear separation as well as being able to be authentic in this sense.
What about your thoughts on identities? Do you have any suggestion to help me if I remain using the single identity approach or do you think I should convert?
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No problem Julian, your blog post was insightful to read! I agree with your sentiments about having multiple identities, it does come with the inconvenience of managing it as well. It is also really positive to note that you’re taking extra precautionary measures to protect yourself from identity thief!
I personally like Shanelle’s blog post regarding about multiple identities as “each digital identity is an expression of yourself” and that we chose to reveal a different version of ourselves depending on the context. I can relate to having a singular identity as I was once in the same position as you, a digital visitor while spending minimal time on the Internet. A natural progression is bound to happen as digital self-promotion and preservation is essential in keeping us relevant in the filed of Marketing. So perhaps some day you might be more of a digital resident or better yet, a digital nomad!
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Hi Julian! Social Media is one of the factors that able to empower and ruin anyone’s career or life. With a clean profile, we are able to create a good first impression online.
However, do you believe it is adequate to just have a clean profile, or do you think standing out on online platforms important?
I personally feel if you are about representing a brand, marketing yourself online is important.
Every business has customers. To get detailed information, they will approach online platforms. By having a clean image and at the same time promoting yourselves by sharing your daily professional activities, moments and helps you create an identity online with reliability.
Do you think you have the ability to change public perspective of you being not real identity to identity by only have a clean image?
I personally feel they may feel that we might be hiding the truth instead as everything is perfect.
What are your views?
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Leinbach-Reyhle, Nicole. “The Single Most Important Reason Why Online Marketing Is More Important Than Ever.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 16 June 2015, http://www.forbes.com/sites/nicoleleinbachreyhle/2015/06/16/the-single-most-important-reason-why-online-marketing-is-more-important-than-ever/#493ea2923bff.
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Hi Sahana,
Thank you for taking your time to read my blog post as well as commenting!
I personally feel that being true to oneself is the most important. To different people, the level of clean is different. Hence, we will not be able to know the perspective of others. For me personally, standing out on online platforms are the least of my concern. I use social media to interact with my friends and families. Influencers use social media to as a place to work. Hence, they will need to stand out on those platforms.
In conclusion, I believe that it depends highly on the purpose as well as the context. For example, using multiple identities. It allows the user to have a different identity for different purpose such as personal and professional. I feel that having multiple identities does not mean the individual is not authentic. As it is the same person behind.
“Different sites, different audiences, different purposes.” – Lee
I hope I manage to answer your question. Do feel free to ask me more!
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Thanks, Julian! Great Perspective!
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Hi Julian,
Nice example you gave at the start of your post. I think all Singaporeans would remember that incident clearly.
I can’t help but notice your last paragraph where you incorporated what we learn in lesson one. You mentioned that you would use a “Single Identity” approach to define your identity since you are currently more of a digital resident. Would you say that your online identity can be split into personal and professional (multiple identities) even if you are a digital resident? Would that still define your identity but just in different contexts?
According to an article by Business News Daily, 70 percent of employers now use social media to screen job candidates before hiring them. I believe this is the main reason why people choose to create multiple accounts, did you take that into consideration? Would love to hear your thoughts.
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Reference:
BusinessNewsDaily. 2017. Keep It Clean: Social Media Screenings Gain in Popularity – Chad Brooks [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/2377-social-media-hiring.html
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Hi Siew Min,
Thank you for taking your time to read my blog post as well as commenting!
I would agree to say that my online identity can be split into personal and professional. I understand that employers nowadays use social media to screen job candidates before hiring them.
For me personally, having multiple identities is causing me much inconvenience as I am not an active Web user. Therefore, I would have to integrate my use of the single identity approach. Firstly, I will have to “Clean Up” my social media account such as deleting inappropriate post or photos and improving my privacy and security by changing the settings. Secondly, I would use a different platform for a different purpose such as Facebook for personal while Twitter for professional. This will allow me to be clear about my audience as well as give me the freedom to post whatever I like.
In conclusion, I believe that different platforms serve a different audience. At the end of the day having single or multiple identities, we as an individual would have to be a responsible web user. I believe that is the key factor for why employers use social media to screen candidates. As for how we behave online, reflect how we behave offline.
I hope I manage to answer your question. Do feel free to ask me more!
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