EDCI 338 Blog 2

1. What is a digital identity?

People or a group of people’s digital identity online refers to the activities they do online. To borrow the words of Eric Stoller, digital identity refers to people’s digital footprint which is any body of work, portfolio, or blog (0:20-0:30). Digital identities are created based on the preferences of users. For example, when a certain online user loves to listen to classical music, he or is likely to be engaged with people, post, or share something related to classical music. In line with this, in the article entitled, Identity-Making and Social Media, Karl Spracklen explained that a fans of sports, music and other forms of popular culture can use the internet to discuss their private obsessions with their fellow fans (94-95). This explains why people’s digital identity is related to what they like. Nevertheless, this is not always the case for digital identity can be created based on the identity that users are trying to project. Erick Stoller mentioned that some employers “stalk” their applicants profile as some form of pre-interview (0:45-0:49). If this is the case, then users need to be wise in creating their digital identities and create one that will be approved by their (future) employers.

2. How do personal versus professional approaches to digital identity affect social media use?

Eric Stoller mentioned that there are some people who “dented” their career because of something that they have posted online (0:50-0:54). This is alarming because this only implies that whatever we post online, regardless if we are just making a joke or we are serious about it, it will still affect our career. For this reason, if we really wanted to create a professional digital identity, it would be better if we will be more careful with what we post. Particularly, before posting anything, we should ask ourselves questions like: “What would my boss think about this? How would my employers react to this? However, one might argue and say that they use social media as their emotional outlet or for some personal reasons. For example, some people use social media to connect with their own community (Spracklen 95). In cases like these, it would be advisable for professionals to create “alternate accounts.” In this account, professional social media users will not fear judgments from their clients or boss.

3. How do digital identities converge in networked publics – what are the impacts and/or benefits?

Different digital identities converge in networked publics when people do online discussions, create online communities, and add/follow other users. The convergence of digital identities has positive impacts because it helps people establish their sense of belongingness (Sprackle 95). In addition to this, convergence of digital identities enable people to learn from other people as well. However, the downside of the convergence of digitial identities is when one’s personal digital identity overlapped with his/her professional digital identity. The overlap of professional and personal digital identity happens when users do not responsibly use their personal and professional digital account. As mentioned earlier, personal and professional digital identities should not overlap especially when what one is sharing and posting in his/her personal account is not fit for a professional.

4. Can a digital wallet provide trust in networked publics?

In my opinion, digital wallet can be trusted especially when you know how to keep your vital information private. Internet users should not only be familiar with different digital tools that they could use but they should also be aware of how fraudulent activities are done online. It is true that a lot of fraudulent activities are done online and many had already been victimized by it. However, I do not think that that it is reason enough to not push through with digital wallets. According to Manyika, 1.7 billion will be more “financially included and participative” if they have access to digital IDs (9:25-9:30). This means that online wallet can help governments promote financial independence.

Works Cited

Eric Stoller. “What is Digital Identity?” YouTube, University of Derby, 25 Nov. 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0RryRbJza0&feature=youtu.be.

Spracklen, Karl. “Identity-Making and Social Media.” Digital Leisure, the Internet and Popular Culture, 2015, pp. 94-112.

World Economic Forum. “Davos 2019 – Press Conference The Value of Digital Identity for the Global Economy and Society.” YouTube, 6 Feb. 2019, www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-V7lyxrOmw&feature=youtu.be.