digital footprints: online identity management and search in the age of transparency web managers...
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Digital Footprints: Online identity management and search in the age of transparency
Web Managers RoundtableMary MaddenSenior Research SpecialistPew Internet & American Life Project
March 27, 2008 2Digital Footprints
Why study digital footprints?
Never before have so many aspects of our lives been recorded, archived and
searchable.
March 27, 2008 3Digital Footprints
Professional Bios
March 27, 2008 4Digital Footprints
LinkedIn Profiles
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Personal Blogs
March 27, 2008 6Digital Footprints
MySpace Pages
March 27, 2008 7Digital Footprints
Information wants to be free…
March 27, 2008 8Digital Footprints
“GM Motors Confirms Their Company Sucks”
March 27, 2008 9Digital Footprints
Digital Footprints at-a-glance…
• Internet Snapshot
• Report Findings
• Personal Stories
• Suggestions for Web Managers
March 27, 2008 10Digital Footprints
Who’s Online?
• 75% of adults in the U.S. use the internet– up from 46% in 2000
• 93% of teens ages 12-17 use the internet– up from 73% in 2000
March 27, 2008 11Digital Footprints
Then and now…
2000
5% with broadband at home
50% owned a cell phone
=slow and stationary connections
2008
55% with broadband at home
80% own a cell phone
=fast and mobile connections
March 27, 2008 12Digital Footprints
How many of us are participating?
User-generated content creation activities:
% - Adult Internet Users
Share something online that you created yourself, such as your own artwork, photos, stories, or videos 19
Post comments to an online news group or website 18
Create or work on your own webpage 12
Create or work on webpages or blogs for others 11
Take material you find online – like songs, text, or images and
remix them into your own artistic creation
9
Create or work on your own online journal or blog 8
Those who have done at least one: 37
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Content Creation: Age tells a different story
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
Ages 12-17
Ages 18-29
Ages 30-38
Ages 39-48
Ages 49-60
Ages 61-69
Ages 70+
Per
cent
age
Internet users Total population
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Youth of today, Web Managers of tomorrow
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Privacy: LOLCats speak up!
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Take a ride on the WayBack Machine…
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Digital Footprints: Headline Findings“Study: More Americans Googling themselves”
-AP47% of adult internet users have searched for information about themselves online, up from just 22%, as reported by the Pew Internet Project in 2002.
“Pew survey: Half of us have looked up people we know on Internet”
-SF Chronicle53% have searched for information connected to at least one key group of people in their lives.
“U.S. Adults Too Busy Googling Each Other to Worry Much About Privacy”
-Information Week60% say they are not worried about how much information is available about them online.
March 27, 2008 18Digital Footprints
Other Key Findings
• Just 3% of self-searchers say they make a regular habit of it and 74% have checked up on their digital footprints only once or twice.
• 38% of those who search for their names don’t find relevant information about themselves.
• One in ten internet users have a job that requires them to self-promote or market their name online.
March 27, 2008 19Digital Footprints
What we know about our footprints
% of internet users who say the following is available about them online:
Home address 35
Company or employer 35
Email address 32
Home phone number 30
Things you’ve written that have your name on it 24
Photo of you 23
Groups or organizations you belong to 23
Political party or affiliation 11
Cell phone number 6
Video of you 2
March 27, 2008 20Digital Footprints
Who we look for online
% of internet users who say they have searched for information about the following groups:
Someone from your past or someone you have lost touch with 36
Friends 26
Family members 23
Co-workers, professional colleagues or business competitors 19
Neighbors or people in your community 17
Someone you just met or someone you were about to meet 12
Someone you are thinking about hiring or working with 11
Someone you are dating or in a relationship with 9
Yes to at least one: 53
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Who am I? Self-Googling 101…
March 27, 2008 22Digital Footprints
A Second Opinion…
March 27, 2008 23Digital Footprints
Wait a minute…
March 27, 2008 24Digital Footprints
Me with a moustache?
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No introduction needed…
March 27, 2008 26Digital Footprints
Organizations have digital footprints, too…
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Manage your online reputation…
Google Alerts
Technorati
Co.mments
Board Tracker
MonitorThis
(Suggestions from LifeHacker)http://lifehacker.com/357460/manage-your-online-reputation
March 27, 2008 28Digital Footprints
Shape your message….
• Blogging
• Flickr• YouTube• Digg• Wikipedia• Facebook• Twitter
Post fresh content as often as possible.
Share content as widely as possible.
Don’t forget to tag,
comment and link with abandon.
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Know your story online…
• Search well and search often. Don’t wait until something bad or embarrassing happens.
Self-literacy: A critical component of digital literacy in everyday life.
March 27, 2008 30Digital Footprints
Know the path of your users.
• Web managers should consider the way Web 2.0 content intersects with other content tied to our names and organizations online.
• Usability extends beyond your website to the broader network.
Web publishing doesn’t happen in a vacuum.
March 27, 2008 31Digital Footprints
Know the other players.
• When individual employees publish blog posts, podcasts or video online, that content may be understood within the context of the top search results tied to that person’s name online.
• Most of us have histories online.
In the era of search, context is king.
March 27, 2008 32Digital Footprints
Sounds like a full-time job…
• Many users are blissfully unaware of their own digital footprints or those of their organization.
• Setting up automatic alerts saves time and keeps you in the know.
Alerts are your friend.
March 27, 2008 33Digital Footprints
Don’t be a “Rahodeb.”
“Online, your rep is quantifiable, findable, and totally unavoidable. In other words, radical transparency is a
double-edged sword, but once you know the new rules, you can use it to control your image in ways you never
could before.”
-Clive Thompson, Wired
March 27, 2008 34Digital Footprints
Thank you!
Mary Madden
Senior Research Specialist
Pew Internet & American Life Project
1615 L Street NW
Suite 700
Washington, DC 20036
202-419-4500
March 27, 2008 35Digital Footprints
Photo Credits:
Slide 9: Uploaded by foxypar4 under a Creative Commons license (Some Rights Reserved). Available at: http://flickr.com/photos/foxypar4/428376855/
Slide 14: Uploaded by London Public Library under a Creative Commons license (Some Rights Reserved). Available at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/londonpubliclibrary/987125878/
Slide 15: Used with permission from www.icanhascheezburger.com