{"id":2103,"date":"2014-02-14T18:00:17","date_gmt":"2014-02-14T18:00:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.nature.com\/naturejobs\/?p=2103"},"modified":"2014-03-05T17:56:13","modified_gmt":"2014-03-05T17:56:13","slug":"digital-tattoos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.nature.com\/naturejobs\/2014\/02\/14\/digital-tattoos\/","title":{"rendered":"Digital tattoos"},"content":{"rendered":"

Shimi Rii, contributor <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

A young scientist\u2019s web presence can have a tremendous impact on their career. Job searches are widely conducted through professional networking sites such as LinkedIn, and a first impression is now made through the first three search hits on our name. Thus, it\u2019s important to showcase our accolades, publications, and professional associations.<\/p>\n

More often than not, we suffer from a lack of web presence. If you do have an online presence, \u00a0one questionable hit on a search engine could impact the opinions of people whom we haven\u2019t met, which may influence our future endeavors. Juan Enriquez, one of the world\u2019s leading authorities on the economic and political impacts of life sciences, said in his TED talk titled, Your online life, permanent as a tattoo<\/a>: \u201cDigital tattoos shout\u201d and \u201cthey tell a lot of stories.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"digital<\/a>

{credit}PhotoDisc\/Getty Images{\/credit}<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

I started thinking about the importance of our web presence when I Googled a speaker\u2019s name after a seminar. I clicked on the first hit, their personal \u201cprofessional\u201d website, and cringed. Though the scientist\u2019s credentials were indisputably impressive, the flowery clipart, emoticons, and photographs of the scientist dancing while holding a red Dixie cup were throwbacks to a 16-year-old\u2019s MySpace page. The aimed message was clearly that \u201cscientists can have fun,\u201d but the person somehow missed the mark.<\/p>\n

In response to a call for scientists to communicate with the public (see <\/i>Time to Tweet<\/a>, <\/i>Escape from the Ivory Tower<\/a>, and Dr. Lubchenco\u2019s call for \u201c<\/i>a new social contract<\/a>\u201d for science<\/i>), many of us are now mixing business with pleasure by speaking out on the web. There is no longer a clear line between the \u201cpersonal\u201d self and the \u201cwork\u201d self. Stan Lee\u2019s famous quote, \u201cWith great power comes great responsibility,\u201d doesn\u2019t just apply to superheroes. As scientists in an increasingly digital age, we have the responsibility to be our best selves on the web.<\/p>\n

Is your web persona aligned with your best self? Check it out:<\/p>\n

Step 1: Google your name<\/b><\/p>\n

The first page of most name searches reveals professional websites, social media sites, and passive identifiers. For example, my hits identified me as an oceanographer in Hawaii who tweets and writes, who wanted Noritake plates on her wedding registry and recently ran a marathon. My seventh hit was a photo-sharing site I signed up for years ago that I didn\u2019t set to \u2018private.\u2019 Second page in, someone would discover an old website describing my least favorite food as a \u201cpeanut butter and toe jams sandwich.\u201d Though some \u2018digital tattoos\u2019 may never be erased, it\u2019s important to be aware of what the first hits of your name are so you can modify their content and privacy settings.<\/p>\n

Step 2: Read your posts<\/b><\/p>\n

My friend\u2019s mom wrote her a private message on Facebook, advising her to \u201cnot swear so much\u201d on her status updates. \u201cIt\u2019s about the Patriots!\u201d She retorted, but after a careful look at her posts, she realized that her mom was right. Her frequent cussing could potentially rub a friend, and worse, a future employer the wrong way. This is particularly important for public sites with no privacy settings, like Twitter. In Twitter-sphere, we are no longer who we are on Facebook, with our families and friends. By tweeting, we are part of a new breed of \u201capproachable scientists,\u201d and we should abide by the Social Media Etiquette<\/a>. Like \u201cMom\u201d on a biker\u2019s biceps, words are the most common and uncensored \u2018digital tattoos.\u2019<\/p>\n

Step 3: Check your images<\/b><\/p>\n

You\u2019ll find that random images associated with your name show up in Google: a photo of an undergrad mentee, an image of an artwork you liked on Pinterest, an ad for a cleanser that happened to be on a web forum you commented on. For this reason, be aware of what images you post and where you use your name. One way to avoid unintentional images is to consistently use a cryptic username that can\u2019t be traced back to your full name.<\/p>\n

Step 4: Create a professional website<\/b><\/p>\n

Whether it be a personal professional site (hosted by the likes of WordPress, Weebly, Wix, etc.) like the example above or a departmental template, it is crucial to have a website that outlines your credentials and research interests. Do as I say, and not as I do, since I haven\u2019t set aside the 10 minutes to cut and paste my CV into a university departmental template. Embarrassed as I did research for this post, I finally added a picture to my ResearchGate profile, which, for the longest time, gave off a sloppy, unmaintained impression. A quick search of my recent Ph.D. cohort led me to her amazing, up-to-date professional website, LinkedIn profile, and a page showing her Google Scholar citations. A mere five minutes later, after some reluctant clicking, I set up a Google Scholar citations page of my own. This leads me to Step 5.<\/p>\n

Step 5: Don\u2019t disappear<\/b><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s say you take a day to set up your professional website, links, and clean up your social media pages. However, maintaining an effective web presence should be consistent and on-going. The profile pages should reflect your \u201ccurrent\u201d self (updated within the month), or you come off unreliable and disconnected. If you are committed to being on Twitter or blogging, you should be fairly active, giving the impression that you are \u201cin-the-know\u201d and are accessible.<\/p>\n

Final Step: Be mindful while staying true to yourself<\/b><\/p>\n

Imagine yourself as the new person at work. You smile at your coworkers and slowly establish relationships. You\u2019re careful about first impressions and try not to insult anyone. Building your web persona is a similar endeavor, in that you want to take responsibility for your \u201cactions\u201d on the web. Unlike a job, however, you can\u2019t quit and move away \u2013 digital tattoos may haunt you forever. So choose the image that most accurately represents who you are, and one that you won\u2019t get tired of.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Shimi Rii, contributor  … Read more<\/a> Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":45013,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[186,281,200],"tags":[357,355],"class_list":["post-2103","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-communication-2","category-social-media-2","category-technology-2","tag-digital-media","tag-online-presence"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.nature.com\/naturejobs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2103","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.nature.com\/naturejobs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.nature.com\/naturejobs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.nature.com\/naturejobs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/45013"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.nature.com\/naturejobs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2103"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.nature.com\/naturejobs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2103\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.nature.com\/naturejobs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2103"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.nature.com\/naturejobs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2103"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.nature.com\/naturejobs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2103"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}