Have you ever Googled yourself? Did you know you leave a trail of data from every little nook and cranny you visit on the Internet? Whether your information is shared intentionally or unintentionally, it’s being gathered by current employers, prospective employers and even companies from whom you shop (that’s if you’ve ever shopped online). All this information is called your digital footprint. Your digital footprint is your online trail which is created from any activities you do or websites you go to, just like when you walk in sand.
So, you are wondering what’s the worst that can happen if you don’t manage your digital footprint? According to Mashable.com there are currently 83 million bogus Facebook pages and any one of these could be using your name and pictures without your consent. To add on to this I will use a personal example. A couple of years ago I bumped into my picture being used as a Facebook profile picture by some stranger in the United Kingdom, luckily this person was a friend of a friend so taking it down was not that complicated. However, this got me thinking. What if I could not influence this person’s decision to take down my picture from his Facebook page? What if he decided to go to the extreme end of opening an imposter Facebook profile using my name and picture, or mentioning me in a derogatory blog post or even tagging me in embarrassing pictures without my consent. Most importantly, what if all this negative information is used against me in a very important business meeting or interview.
All these scary thoughts drove me to the conclusion that as we live in the digital age, managing your digital footprint is of utmost importance. According to Thisisme.com, a recently launched South African online security company; South Africa has seen a rise in online fraud from 39% in 2012 and 54% in 2013 to a staggering 62% in 2014, making personal ID verification a central focus the world over. In a digital world filled with social networking, wikis, MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, blogs, podcasting, YouTube, social bookmarking, tagging, and RSS feeds, this is what you can do to keep track of your online personality and reputation.
Google yourself regularly and set alerts.
As a first step, simply “Google” yourself, or if you don’t like using Google you can submit a search using the Web search engine of your choice to find the mentions of your name or your practice. Search engines are useful, but they are however not the most efficient process for regularly trawling through the multitude of data on the Web, so you can also set up alerts, watch lists, and blog library searches to keep up with more timely postings. Applications like Google Alerts, BlogPulse, Technorati, and many others were set up just for this purpose.
Keep a list of all your online accounts.
You should always remember all your online accounts and if you don’t use it anymore, simply delete it. That old Myspace or Hi5 page you opened when you were still in college, find it and delete it!
Use Privacy Settings
Most social networking sites have varying levels of privacy controls, use these privacy controls to limit and control access to your personal information.
Think before you post
Every time you send a message, post or picture remember that you are publishing it the same way the Herald or Newsday does a news story and to make it worse, the Internet never forgets. Do not post any inappropriate photos, comments, status updates or other content. You wouldn’t want to lose your dream job because you once commented negatively on that company’s blog.
Other than the above mentioned manual methods you can also use automated security management tools like the Disconnect App and websites like abine.com and ghostery.com.
Disconnect
Disconnect is an award-winning online security App that can protect you against online trackers and hackers. Disconnect is available on Mac OS X, Windows, Android, and iOS. Its main features include tracker visualization which helps you track where all your online information goes, encrypted Internet which prevents wireless eavesdropping, secures your connections and protects against other online threats. Lastly, Disconnect ensures safe browsing through masking your IP address to prevent trackers and hackers from associating your Internet activity with your real name and identity.
Abine.com
Blur was created with one simple mission, which is to make it easier to manage and protect your online identity without sacrificing convenience. It is designed to integrate seamlessly into your online life and features appear when you need them without getting in your way. With smart tools and a fast, minimal interface, Blur keeps your accounts organized and lets you decide who gets your private information, and who doesn’t. With Blur, passwords sync across devices and fill in automatically when you want to log in, you can also sign up to different websites using masked email addresses and then receive emails privately or block them as spam.
Ghostery.com
Ghostery is a website that can help you monitor who is tracking you online. It has the largest tracker database available on the web which meticulously selects, profiles and culls over 1,900 trackers and 2,300 tracking patterns. With Ghostery, you get to choose whether you want to block tracker by tracker, site-by-site, or a mixture of the two. Ghostery is available for nearly every device and browser: Firefox, Safari, Chrome, Opera, iOS and Android via the Firefox Browser.
I will finish off by quoting what two great thinkers once said about digital footprints.
“In the future, your digital footprint will carry far more weight than anything you might include on your resume”.- Chris Betcher
“We are living online, but have yet to fully realize the implications of doing so… One of those implications is that our tracks through the digital and are eternal”. John Battelle