Digital Me
Who are you?
Who, who, who, who? – The Who
Just who is digital Jay Smith? If you Google my name, there are thousands of Jay Smith’s out there. I never realized how important a digital persona would be.
I have always had multiple email accounts: one for friends, one for school/work and one for purchases. And now I have a Nazareth email account. The time all adds up when checking email a couple of times a day. It is tough to keep up with responses. Figuring out what’s important and what’s not is important, but not getting back to friends becomes an issue.
Knowing that it is important to have a digital presence, I have renamed my blog and have started a second blog with my alter persona. I have to start building up the JaySmith942 image as a professional educator. This blog is a perfect format and since I have already gotten my feet wet with the class assignments and start thinking of developing my own forum. I would like to keep discussing about technology and education, but maybe more on the subject of English Language Arts. There are some great resources out there on ELA, such as the Blake Archive and the Federal Resources for Educational Excellence.Reading some of the articles by Will Richardson is giving me a little more insight on the power of blogging. It was great experience talking with Kathy Cassidy in class. It was cool to see how see is using blogging and the web to stimulate her students. Seeing the students work was the sinker for me and having that ability is great for review or portfolio generation.
I started a Twitter account. Actually, I started two Twitter accounts…one for Jay and the other for alter me. I haven’t had any time to really play around with it, but the format seems rather simple. I haven’t had time to check either account since I created them…which is about a week ago. If I have time over the weekend I am going to check out the links on the class webpage and see if I can find some people in my field that are writing some decent material. For my Alter Ego, I have found a couple of authors that I read on there and have signed up to follow them. I really got to check out my accounts.
On that note….time to check out my many many online adventures. This is the real Jay Smith signing out. Cheers!
What a Network Can Do For You | EdTechTrek said,
October 14, 2009 at 5:16 pm
[...] many students became suddenly more responsive to the ideas that had been tossed around in class. Some students blogged about finally giving Twitter a try and being energized at how teachers were using these tools in real [...]
Stephen Ransom said,
October 19, 2009 at 9:10 pm
Jay, I’m glad you stumbled upon Will Richardson’s writings. As a fellow english teacher, you should relate well. I think you are definitely on to something here. Being in control of one’s digital footprint and persona is a whole lot better than spinning the wheel of fortune.
Brian said,
October 20, 2009 at 9:28 am
I’m curious as to why you feel the need for an “alter ego”. I’m not knocking it, just wondering what your thoughts are. In the past, when I was just exploring much of the web that it is today, I had an different “handle”. I used “mobileminded” for my online username for awhile. After a bit, I realized that I wanted to own my (digital) footprint. So, I changed to “briancsmith”. As you know, the name Smith is more than extremely common Google has me as a TV star, Cornell professor, I’ve even learned that I’ve died a few times (which is less than fun to learn). However, I don’t separate my life into two distinct spaces. My Facebook, Twitter and other online spaces are a reflection of who I am in and out of education. Can you share your thoughts?
Jay said,
October 24, 2009 at 4:53 pm
Hi Brian. Thanks for the comment! I almost feel that an “alter ego” is necessary these days. I want to keep my personal life and my work life separate. When I start teaching I want to encourage kids to use the Web and use all the tools that they can to help them learn. But when it comes to social networking, I want to be sure that I am setting a good example for my students. I don’t want them to see my drinking beer out of a glass boot or doing a funny dance at a costume party. Granted, I will put some fun photos up, but I want to have a professional veneer to my profile. I see this as a “pen name” or a “stage name” and will not change my style of postings, but just some of the content. Plus, employer might check out these sites and I want to be sure that my social life does not get in the way of my professional life.
Plus, I have always wanted to be a super hero or have a cool stage name like Bono or The Edge….well maybe something a little cooler then that.
I will keep exploring this thought and appreciate any input that you may have. Spread the word! Cheers!