As a parent I am very aware of my son's digital tattoo. He is only two years old, however, I have posted pictures of him on social media, so has his grandma! However, I make a conscious effort to minimize his digital tattoo. I am minimalist when it comes to sharing publicly on social media, only a few posts a year and I often use my maiden name on accounts, so my students can't find me.
When I began my data mine on myself I was expecting to find very little. This was true with my initial Google search of my name (both married and maiden name). I have Googled myself in the past and if anything came up, I tried to hide it or eliminate it as soon as possible! Also, nothing came up when I searched for myself on Nuwber. I felt like I was striking out (but was secretly relieved).
Then, I finally had some luck on Pipl! The information Pipl provided (see below) had some correct information (name, age, employer, places, and associated people), but was incorrect with the profile picture, username, and additional names.
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| Screenshot of Pipl |
I then looked at the second result, which had much less information, but it all seemed accurate.
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| Screenshot of Pipl results |
I then checked out Intelius, which provided many results. Again, some information was correct, while other data was completely inaccurate. Many of the locations associated with my name are were actually my dad's locations, however, I did not reside with him.
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| Screenshot of Intelius results |
Instant Checkmate seemed to have the most accurate information in the quick report that was generated. This website seemed to be the only site that associated my parents with me and not just my in-laws.
I did check Blockshopper, however, I couldn't locate any information on myself just by searching my name, however, when I put my address in then all the data available (taxes, schools, square footage, etc) was available. Tax data was dated, but I wish I only paid the amount of taxes that was listed!
Lastly, I took a look at Illinois Teacher Salaries. My students love to look for all their teachers salaries! The information was accurate from a few years ago, but it did not display my current salary.
Overall, I really enjoyed this assignment. I get a little nervous knowing what type of information is available by doing a few quick searches. But as Nicole mentioned in her video, if someone wants to find you they will. I think this assignment is a great way to make you aware of what public records exist and how you are presented on the web. All student should data mine themselves to ensure what it out on the web is representative of their current selves.
I'm curious as to why you try to limit your digital profile.
ReplyDeleteI like to keep my private life private. I think it is mostly due to safety reasons, I want to protect my family and put very little information out there. If my family members choose to be more public, than that is their choice. When it comes to my professional life, I am fine with presenting myself publically in a professional way. In person, I tend to be a quiet, reserve person until I get to know someone, I guess I am trying to do the same online.
DeleteI had a similar experience. I was also relieved to not find too much of my personal information online. I also try to keep my private information offline, and only share the professional side. I just don't like to put it all out there. Maybe I'm just reserved, but a little paranoia isn't all bad in today's world.
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ReplyDeleteHi Amy,
ReplyDeleteIt's funny how stuff sometimes times itself out so perfectly in out lives. I'm asking my students to interview their own heroes for a short narrative writing assignment. Many chose their parents and decided to search for them on Google. Not surprisingly, the students found several pictures of themselves on the web. The biggest issue they tend to have is not liking their own appearance and feeling embarrassed.
While this happened in class, I thought about this assignment. Your post makes me wonder what my students' parents think about this. In one sense, it's just a fact of life: we're all digitalized in some way or another. In the other sense, these students don't have much power regarding their "digital tattoos," and they don't completely understand what exactly the implications of online presence can be. Online exposure is, for many, unavoidable. Technology gives us one more reason to separate aspects of ourselves (such as "personal" from "professional"). This fragmentation of the self is, I believe, a phenomenon that must be explored thoroughly as we continue to spend more and more time "online." Will "online" even be a phrase in ten years?
Amy,
ReplyDeletea lot of the information I found was not accurate either. I thought it would be easy to find info on me because I have a unique last name but it pulled up a lot of information that had nothing to do with me.