How my Digital Life got turned upside down

I even made it on TV

As a Computer Scientist, I will let the numbers do the talking for what has happened to my digital profile over the past 3 months… (Note, all stats and data used accurate on 26 Dec 2015)

A Full Brand Makeover

As you can see, I have 515% increase in followers, with a similar 540% increase in total number of tweets.

Here on my about.me page, you can see the brand start to build up with the consistent colour scheme.

This image used in my LinkedIn is also my Gravatar profile image, which tries to make your Profile images consistent to create a ‘Brand’.

Here on my Google+ page you can see the ‘Brand’ appearing again – with an impressive amount of views on my page.

So as you can see, my brand is a lot more clear than it was before.

WordPress Success

My blog was a success, both in terms of outreach and quality. Below are the statistics I will discuss.

337 views on all my posts is fairly impressive for the blogging, with a high visitor number of 112. I have had views from the MANG students in Singapore. But most interesting is the success of me sharing my blog on Twitter – showing the success of my digital profile.

So whats changed?

1. I have begun to actually use Twitter.
2. I have a Gravatar account and have steamlined my online profiles.
3. New LinkedIn profile, new WordPress account, new Google+ account and I have opened up a about.me web-page.

I have broadened my online portfolio from just Facebook and Google – to an array of professional profiles, with a new professional look and feel for my portfolio. I now have a large digital footprint online.

Points Learned

In a sentence:

I am a Digital Native/Resident who now has a single professional online identity with the knowledge that my profile is snooped and spied on, whilst I and others can be guilty of unconscious bias and have an ‘Open’ profile.

I’ve learnt many topics, mainly relating to how I now interact with the internet. It’s changed my views and my actions online.

I have LinkedIn, with 44 Connections because I have been shown the importance of an online profile, as you can see from reading Jamie Blythes’ blog.

As you can see from my research into Social Media discrimination, In my self test and as you can see in my blog post, I can be guilty like many others of unconscious bias. So I have to now make conscious decisions knowing this, to ensure I am not bias to anyone based on any personal variables.

I now have a single node for my online portfolio at about.me/toddlynes. Whilst on these profiles I’ve connected on it, I must be careful online as I have learned from others blogs like Max’s blog. As what I post online can be seen by employers and authorities.

Quantitative reflective change. Feeling more confident in myself and my profiles.

It’s been a journey I’ve enjoyed and I’ve benefited from and will help me in the future.

Reflecting on my Open Blog Post

I may not be a social pioneer, but I am reflecting on my blog which is openly accessible to the world.

Thoughts on the Topic

After being aware of Open Access, it’s the first time I’ve actually delved into the nitty-gritty details of it. I think it’s one of those topics that – if it affected more people directly there would be outrage. But as it’s kept behind closed doors, ironically a bit like some academic journals – people don’t know too much about it.

What has changed?

Firstly – I’ve become an Open Access advocate! Sadly, like most others, as an undergraduate who isn’t actually publishing himself, I don’t have much of a voice in the debate. Although – I don’t think this is a valid excuse, as if we all had this attitude, there would be no change in the world and liberalism wouldn’t exist.

What can we do?

https://www.openaccessbutton.org/ Is an organization which is campaigning for open access, with a button plug you can get, which let’s you apply for access to a paper. Where if you can’t access it, you can publicize the fact.

Whereas this won’t be helpful for myself as I use the University of Southampton network to access literature, promoting it will help others who need it. Also – people can support the organization with sponsorship which can help fund other peoples work.

Final thoughts on mankind

I think that together for the good of humanity, we should collaborate research and make it as available as possible. There are problems like Climate Change and increasing populations which are putting mankind in danger. So we must make progress. This will only work with Open Access to build on other peoples work.

My Comments:

https://tomburrellblog.wordpress.com/2015/12/06/open-source-what-is-it-and-why-use-it/#comments

https://bryonykeen.wordpress.com/2015/12/06/the-open-access-movement/#comments

 

Image used from: https://www.openaccessbutton.org

 

Dear Deidre…

The face of an Open Internet?

Confused?

You won’t be if you have been following the latest victory in Open Access this year. This is the news that since the start of December 2015, the Sun has removed its online paywall. So now we are free to see the latest addition of Dear Deidre:
Dear Deidre – My girlfriend is a PORNSTAR and a CHEAT

What does this signal for Open Access?

This signals a reversal of claims made saying 90% of businesses content will be behind paywalls. The previous held thoughts was that this would be the future – but this shows that the business model is flawed.

The reality is – if you are made to pay, then people will just go elsewhere for online content. Consumer choice, and the best option will always prevail, we will pick the best value option. In a market Online – where anyone can upload articles, blogs and set up websites. Paywalls are always destined to fail.

Consumer choice will always win.

So Why Make Content Freely Available?

People release content freely for several reasons:

For Status/Recognition. – The more freely available content is, the more people can recognize your work.
Philanthropy:
To make a positive impact around the world. Also applicable to Music, Videos and other Arts.
Hobby/Fun:
Some people just enjoy producing content, i.e. research, making music/videos or programs.

Are there any positives of not making content freely available?

Well, some argue that in the case of research – it reduces the quality of journals. With Gold Access articles being read less and not edited and improved. As argued by Robin Osbourne here.
You can make a similar argument to ‘The Arts’ also, saying that less people would be encouraged to create arts like videos, paintings, music if there was no financial reward.

So the freely available content best applies to research – which a lot of the time, has already been paid for by the taxpayer.

So what does the future hold?

I am not a fortune teller, but as I said earlier – I don’t think paywalls have much of a future. Websites can make enough money through advertising and selling products. Also, their hand has been forced by good quality free content.

But the Open Access movement continues and is looking strong. Some content while free to view, costs to publish I think this is the way forward for research. But in terms of ‘The Arts’ – free access will never happen because of the nature of the arts.

 

 

 

Image Source:

http://www.picstopin.com/500/dear-deidre/http:||i40*tinypic*com|34sqsy0*jpg/

Simpsons ©1999 20TH CENTURY FOX FILM CORP.

 

Reflecting on Authentic Professional Profiles

Looking back at my Blog Post:

In my blog this week, I took a more cynical line than most on the topic. This was as I felt that it was an un-blogged side of the story.

I feel although a reader hoping to create an ‘authentic’ online professional profile may not learn too much about techniques. They have thought more about more the reasons why they are doing what they’re doing.

The writing of the blog was a learning experience for me, I learned a lot about my own online profile, and for me to question the real reasons why my profile is what it is? With new Cyber powers being sought by the Home Secretary, giving us even less privacy and control over our online lives. Yes – we are being forced into a professional profile: By the Home Secretary, the competitive job market and an unconscious media stimulation.

The personal lessons I have learned are to definitely limit my online usage – for personal reasons of being free from unhealthy negative news and social pressures. And also as anything you say online can and will be used against you.

My comments on other blogs:
https://sophiepitman.wordpress.com/2015/11/07/developing-your-professional-online-profile-is-linkedin-enough/

https://jblytheblog.wordpress.com/2015/11/08/developing-your-professional-online-profile/#comments

But in a literary sense, I have tried to improve the format of my blog and the clarity of the blog. Which I believe I cleared up from the blog, as well as the relevance of the blog.

Topic 1 Reflection

I’ll start with the negatives with what I struggled with on the first blog post.
Firstly, I haven’t written a blog before, so the experience, designing the writing style and choosing something interesting to write about on the topic was quite hard. Also, with my chosen topic of relating the residents and visitors to gamers and non-gamers, I found it quite hard to fit my point across in such a small amount of words.
So myself, I’ve learnt either I am trying to get across too large a subject – or I am not concise enough in my writing. Both of which, due to my novice level of blog writing, are both likely. So with my next blog I will have to plan out what I am going to write, to ensure that it will be short enough to fit in the confines of 400 words.
This was also the case with the comment on the blog, as I may need to review my approach, as 150 words again for someone who does not do much writing, is not a lot to give a full review into someone else’s writing.
Standing out from the crowd where everyone has done the same topic over the terms is also another challenge for me, as I will try to come up with an original view which hasn’t been done before. Which is why I thought it would be a good idea to do another syntax of gamers and non-gamers as it would be something people haven’t done before or thought about which I thought was a positive.

Although as a positive, this first attempt gave me practice in the art of formulating a professional looking blog and my mistakes will hopefully be gone for the next topic.

http://tl10g13.robpress.ecs.soton.ac.uk/

Links to my comments:
https://katieuniacke.wordpress.com/2015/10/07/the-digital-world-is-a-place-not-a-language/

https://jblytheblog.wordpress.com/2015/10/06/are-you-a-digital-visitor-resident-or-are-you-somewhere-in-between-the-continuum/comment-page-1/#comment-1

Residents and Visitors – Syntax Error

Residents and visitors has been described as:

a new typology for online engagement

I’ve found everyone and anyone can sub-type residents and visitors into sub categories. We need a strong type rule where the terms can be indivisible. So that’s why I look at why we go online, what are the psychological reasons we visit the web.

So this is why I believe we should be in the spectrum of Gamers and Non-Gamers, a much more binary and meaningful term.

The Major League Gaming Logo – a large gaming community gathered solely on the practice of gaming.

So first you have to ask the question Why people go online? This is where the gamers and non gamers are differentiated. Gamers go online for enjoyment whilst non-gamers go online out of need.

For example, a non gamer will just use the internet to google something, or to do banking or use maps. Whereas clearly a gamer will incorporate this into their habits, but they will go online on Social media or maybe even literally, to play games – although this isn’t a definition of a gamer.

Why?

Well… most things you can contribute to online can been seen as games. Wikipedia, Twitter, WordPress, Qoura – all big websites has a staple success of implementing gamification to their websites in order for you to visit again.

I’ll break down the basics of gamification and relate it to twitter:

• Voluntary.
  Quite simply, games are designed to be fun, if you are forced to do something, it will feel like work. So as in twitter, it is your choice to play or not.
• Points.
  Like all games you get points for what you do, twitter allows you to receive points in the form of re-tweets and tweets.
• Score.
  The number of followers you have, or mentions you receive is a twitter score. You will intrinsically, as a player, try to increase your score, as you would in all games.
• Social engagement
  Whilst not a necessity of games, it now is a fundamental part of the motivating factor behind playing games. This is done via @Mentions, engaging other players. Tweets and re-tweets, where intrinsic happiness comes from the status derived from a high amount of followers.
• Avatar
  You have a customized avatar, where you can change your picture and background.

So as any site which uses gamification, like Badges, Leader-boards, Points, Scores, Social engagement, Avatars. Then you can count yourself as a gamer. You will be able to tell really whether it is an active choice to go online for enjoyment, rather than out of need. As thanks to gamification, the tricks used make us want to go online.

So instead of categorizing you engagement on what your digital literacy is, what you do online, your digital footprint and so on, it should be on why you go online.

Some other reading for those interested:
Blog on Twitter Gamification
Link to the book I’ve used to research gamification
Visitors and residents: A new typology in engagement

Welcome one and all!

Hello There!

I’d like to welcome you, and myself – to the world of blogging.

I am part of the Living and Working on the Web module at the University of Southampton, where students set up a blog and interact with one and others’ blog posts via set questions each fortnight. Although, I can’t even vouch that I have even read a blog before. Even as a Computer Scientist, completing my final year, I don’t use many applications other than BBC News, Facebook and WhatsApp. So I’m more Old School than cool…

I’m hoping this module can give me a variety of tools and lessons in how to achieve  maximum capability out of the internet, for my career, skill sets and degree. So on twitter, look up #UOSM2033 to follow mine and my colleagues progress throughout this course.

Mr Lynes