12 Days

This module has touched on so many topics that I will never get to find out on my own. (Before: What is open access? Am I a digital resident or visitor?) It is so unconventional – lectures on google hangout, assignments on blog, inquiry on twitter. It promotes active learning and has so much flexibility in terms of timing. I became more independent as I look for references to produce content for my blog and improve on skills such as locating, organising and analysing data information. Other than the impact on my learning, the module has great relevance in the increasingly digital society. I learnt many tips on how to sell myself and build my online profile to impress prospective employers. I also gave thought about real issues like job application, online identity and privacy during the course of the module which I find it to be really useful.

The link below will direct you to a full version of a 4 page visual journal I’ve created using Piktochart. 

https://magic.piktochart.com/embed/9435017-mang-2049

(Twitter, WordPress and LinkedIn icons are directly linked to my accounts)

Here are some screenshots:

Yes to open access!

Prior to reading the posts from my peers, I couldn’t choose a side on the whole debate but now I am sure I stand for having open access on the Internet!

From Sze Li’s post, she mentioned Skillshare, an online learning platform that offers design related courses and materials for free. I did some further research on Google and found another education platform called Coursera that partners with top universities and organizations worldwide. With so many similar sites available, it seems like learning online is slowly becoming a trend.

As a student, I can understand how paying off student loans can be a problem. There are many people out there that can’t afford a proper education but still want to educate themselves. With open access, these people will get to enjoy the online courses to gain more knowledge without having to worry about money. I believe everyone should benefit from education regardless of their financial status, and the Internet only has the ability to do so if there is open access!

Patrick and Huimin brought up the issue of Plagiarism which I think is one of the significant disadvantage of open access. It is unfair and discouraging to content makers who spend so much time and effort on working on a research and then later have someone copied and claiming it to be theirs.

I discovered Creative Commons and think it may be an effective solution to this problem. It is a nonprofit organization that gives authors and researchers a ‘some rights reserved’ policy instead of ‘all rights reserved’ policy. It allow interested users to re-publish their work as long as they follow the condition set by the author. This concept is beneficial to both users and content makers as one get to use the material for free, and the latter gets to make their work known to the public to gain more recognition.

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Comment on Sze li’s blog
Comment on Huimin’s blog

The “democratization” of information

Source: Open Knowledge Blog

One of the most important properties is its openness

– Tim Berners-Lee

These are the exact words coming from the inventor of the Internet himself at the first Knowledge Conference where he also made an impassioned request to keep the internet open, free and accessible. The concept behind the World Wide Web was to share knowledge and embrace the cultural differences in the world. (The National, 2014)

However, why do I often find resources like e-books, research papers and news article to be behind paywalls? According to a survey conducted by Simon-Kucher & Partners, 90% of online content will be held behind paywalls in the next 3 years! (Lepitak, S., 2013)

So what kind of impact can open access make on us?

let’s look at it in 3 different standpoints:

Student Perspective

Students will get to enjoy the benefits of reduced education costs as they have access to open education resources (OER) for free or at a low cost. Their quality of learning will also be improved when information become more abundant and discoverable online due to wider circulation.

Business Perspective

Companies will have broad access to recent scientific research which builds on their knowledge to provide an economic boost and not to mention libraries will become more relevant in the digital world.

Author Perspective

Authors can easily publish their work online and do not have to worry about additional and complicated administration procedures. However, open access journals do not yet have the same established reputation as traditional journals and authors usually have to incur publication fees to allow their work to be free to end users. Some even argue that the open access model will cause a lack of quality control. Authors have to generate more articles to cover costs when a large portion of their revenue comes from publication fees and that will have a negative impact on the overall quality of their work. Then again, open access give scientists in developing countries the opportunity to participate in international research communities, and discounted or waived publication fees for papers from low-income countries.

Keeping these advantages and disadvantages of open access in mind, I wonder what the right choice is. Should we make resources free? Well, that would be the best for us students! But how do the authors get compensated for their work? Also, having so many resources to choose from how can we determine if the information is credible and meeting the standards of the specific discipline?

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References:

Stephen Lepitak. 2013. 90% of online content to be held behind paywalls in three years media company survey suggests. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.thedrum.com/news/2013/04/12/90-online-content-be-held-behind-paywalls-three-years-media-company-survey-suggests. [Accessed 11 November 15].

David Wiley, Cable Green, and Louis Soares. 2012. Dramatically Bringing Down the Cost of Education with OER. [ONLINE] Available at: http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED535639.pdf. [Accessed 11 November 15].

Adam Geib. 2013. Advantages and Disadvantages of Open Access. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.edanzediting.com/blog/advantages_and_disadvantages_open_access#.VkKRRLcrKM-. [Accessed 11 November 15].

Open Access. 2015. Pros and cons. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.openaccess.nl/en/what-is-open-access/pros-and-cons. [Accessed 11 November 15].

Ramola Talwar Badam. 2014. World Wide Web inventor makes plea to keep internet free and open. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.thenational.ae/uae/technology/world-wide-web-inventor-makes-plea-to-keep-internet-free-and-open. [Accessed 11 November 15].

In summary

In my previous post, I discussed on the issue of bashing. After reading on the posts that my peers have shared, these are other ethical issues that are found to be significant as well:

Venezia’s and Jamie’s post are mainly about dishonesty and distorted endorsement. Many companies hire influencers and celebrities to post fake reviews about their products and to create a false impression that these endorsers actually uses their product.

(an endorser’s confession on her Instagram)
Cr: Jamie’s Blog

As someone who shops online quite frequently, I rely on product reviews when making purchasing decisions. If a company participates in any dishonest practices, it jeopardizes the quality of their offerings and as a consumer I would find it difficult to see that company to be trustworthy again.

Silviana shared her views on how unethical it is for employees to be fired because of their online behavior. I support her suggestion that companies should set clear policies and regulations regarding social media usage. It definitely puts a clearer picture in employee’s mind on how to interact online and what is considered appropriate or inappropriate to post.

She also mentioned how everyone has the freedom of speech and an employee has the right to share whatever they want online. I have to disagree with her because I believe that posting negative comments even without revealing names can still leave an impact. Our current or future employers will be able to track our posts which leaves a bad impression on our image. If a person really wants to complain about work, perhaps discussing it with friends in a private conversation would be better?

Sze Li stresses on the importance of privacy and how common it is for companies (e.g. Facebook) to sell consumer’s personal information. For me, I find the idea of companies accessing our cookies to be disturbing. It is important on our side, that we share as little personal information as possible to avoid companies using it without our permission.

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Comment on Jamie’s Blog
Comment on Sze Li’s Blog

Bashing – is it worth it?

Source: Getty Images

With the advancement of technology, social media platforms have become a great place for brand marketers and advertisers to engage and reach out to their customers. However, when companies neglect professionalism when using the sites, it can present some challenges to the ethics of business.

In this post, I will be sharing more on bashing.

Facebook

In 2011, Facebook paid a top PR firm to spread negative stories about Google to the US media, urging them to investigate claims that Google was invading people’s privacy. The plot backfire when an influential blogger refused to help and posted his emails exchanges with the PR firm.

(Read the full story here: Facebook Busted in Clumsy Smear on Google)

Samsung

Samsung was fined when it got caught paying for false praises and negative comments about competitors. The company hired two Taiwanese marketing firms to post bad reviews about HTC products and positive evaluation on Samsung products in their local forums.

(Read the full story here: Samsung Fined $340,000 for Faking Online Comments)

Is bashing competitors an effective marketing strategy? Definitely not, because it could lead to detrimental repercussions and is highly unethical.

Firstly, why is there even a need to put others in an inferior position? The way I see it, when companies spend money and effort to put down a competitor instead of using it to promote their own campaign, they are actually displaying a lack of confidence in their products!

Secondly, publicly disparaging others can tick off their own customers who may also be customers of their competitors. They also run the risk of upsetting prospective customers. These offended customers will engage in bad word of mouth or go on the company’s social media sites to write comments about the company and their products which might result in negative publicity.

Cr: Nestle’s Facebook controversy

Lastly, such negative sentiments often go viral very quickly even before giving the competitor company a chance to rebut. These attacks will been seen as spiteful which will cause the company to miss opportunities to work with other companies. If I were a CEO of an emerging company looking to make an investment, it is obvious that I would choose a reputable company rather than a dishonest one to collaborate with.

The bottom line is, before launching a competitive marketing campaign, company must make sure that every step is done in a tasteful and subtle manner. Carrying out underhand tactics such as bashing to achieve goals would only be seen as a low stunt to pull.

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References:

Dr. Jim Barry. 2014. 7 Ethical Dilemmas Faced in Content Marketing. [ONLINE] Available at:http://blog.socialcontentmarketing.com/7-ethical-dilemmas-faced-in-social-media-marketing/. [Accessed 09 November 15].

David J. Gunkel . 2015. Social Media: Changing the rules of business ethics. [ONLINE] Available at:http://newsroom.niu.edu/2015/03/17/social-media-changing-the-rules-of-business-ethics/. [Accessed 09 November 15].

William Comcowich. 2014. Does Bashing Competitors with Attack Ads Really Work?. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.cyberalert.com/blog/index.php/does-bashing-competitors-with-attack-ads-really-work/. [Accessed 09 November 15].

How to stand out on LinkedIn?

The days of cover letters are long gone with resume not far behind. Social media websites like LinkedIn have become a great source for networking and establishing an online identity. Many of my peers have talked about the effectiveness of using LinkedIn as an online professional profile. I do agree with them but at the same time worried about the issue of overcrowding.

Cr: LinkedIn

Students and recent graduates are the fastest growing demographics on LinkedIn with a total number of over 39 million. Since everyone is on LinkedIn and it is slowly becoming a norm won’t it just be a standard resume? Everyone have obviously read the same methods and tips on how to create an effective profile. So how do I stand out among these people?

Cr: LinkedIn

I did some research and found a useful post on LinkedIn’s official blog which I believe my mates and I will be benefited from since we will one day graduate and maybe resort to LinkedIn for jobs. It is about how people are using the same adjectives to describe themselves and their experiences. Above is the list of overused words that should be avoided so we don’t sound the same like everyone else. Other than banishing these words from your LinkedIn profile, I think it is wise to not use it on tradition resumes as well.

Definitely don’t go about replacing these words with a lackluster synonym! Rather, what we can do is to use concrete examples of our accomplishments and upload examples of our work. For instance, maybe you were part of a marketing team that successfully launched a product. You can add in newspaper articles or advertisements announcing the project to your profile. Or maybe you work in a team that generate ideas for a marketing campaign, find the PowerPoint slides used during your presentation and share it. This way, your motivation and creatively can be easily illustrated!

Cr: ICON on YouTube

Cheers!

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Comment on: Chloe’s Blog
Comment on: Shannon’s Blog

References:

LinkedIn. 2015. About LinkedIn. [ONLINE] Available at: https://press.linkedin.com/about-linkedin. [Accessed 06 November 15].

Catherine Fisher. 2015. Brand YOU Year: How to Brand Yourself Without Sounding Like Everyone Else. [ONLINE] Available at: http://blog.linkedin.com/2015/01/21/brand-you-year-how-to-brand-yourself-without-sounding-like-everyone-else/. [Accessed 06 November 15].

ICON. (2015). How To Build Your Personal Brand. [Online Video]. 13 August. Available from:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MaP7ofAHoc4. [Accessed: 06 November 2015].

Do we still need traditional resume?

Cr: Jobvite

Many companies are increasingly using online platforms to recruit people. And as job seekers, we should start taking our online identity seriously by posting the right content to impress potential employee. Imagine if a potential employer were to research you online, what would he or she find?

If you haven’t realised, traditional resume are no longer useful in helping us stand out in the competitive society! What we can do though, is to create a professional profile using sites like LinkedIn, WordPress or Twitter.

Here are more reasons to why online profiles will replace resumes.

With that, let’s look at tips on building an online profile!

1. Be Image Conscious
   Choose a photo that best represent your personal brand. It can be a photo of yourself in a business suit or standing on top of MacRitchie Treetop Walk smiling! Try to make sure that every photo that can be recoverable online should at least be appropriate and that all of your other profiles and websites are using the same photo. This will maintain a consistent brand image that employers will begin to recognize.
2. Be Everywhere
   Use social media websites like Twitter, Google+ and Facebook aggressively to share your profile. It can boost your personal search ranking and make your information available to anyone which allows you to network with people you normally can’t reach. Keep your message consistent so your profile can be seen as authentic and you don’t come off as someone with multiple identities.
3. Use Elevator Pitch in Your “About Me” Section
   Imagine you are sharing an elevator with an employer of your dream company and have only 30 seconds during the ride to introduce yourself. Make a short video introducing yourself by stating precisely who you are and what drives you. Then move on to some of your experiences and skills that make you stand out. A video can add authenticity to your profile.

   Below is a video showing how you can go about doing so:
   
4. Keep it Up to Date
   Every time you make changes to your profile you post an update so people can keep track of your latest information. Also refresh keywords and phrases that people use to search for your profile. The more active your profile is, the higher chance of people believing your profile is authentic.

Good luck and have fun! 🙂

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References:

Nathan Parcells. 2014. How to Create a Killer Online Professional Profile. [ONLINE] Available at:https://www.looksharp.com/blog/how-to-create-a-killer-online-professional-profile. [Accessed 05 November 15.]

Jesse Gant. 2012. 7 Ways to Optimize Your Professional Profile. [ONLINE] Available at:http://mashable.com/2012/07/17/optimize-online-professional-profile/#wgrG41xQASqr. [Accessed 05 November 15].

Dan Schawbel. 2011. 5 Reasons Why Your Online Presence Will Replace Your Resume in 10 years. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.forbes.com/sites/danschawbel/2011/02/21/5-reasons-why-your-online-presence-will-replace-your-resume-in-10-years/. [Accessed 05 November 15].

Howcast. (2010). How to Perfect the Elevator Pitch. [Online Video]. 08 April. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1Y02_oZP8U. [Accessed: 05 November 2015].

Something new…

As mentioned in my previous post, I stand for having multiple online identities on a social media platform to protect my privacy. However, after watching a video from Tianyi’s blog, it made me ponder on the issue of authenticity even harder.

The man in the video is seen posting an update every time on his Facebook that does not correspond exactly to what happened in real life. Though the real reason of him doing so is not fully explained but viewers can already guessed it because some of us actually acts like him or know someone that do. He is careful with whatever he shares online because he wants other people to see him in the way he want them to see – in a romantic relationship, have a successful career and enjoying his life in general.

The video shows the ugly truth of how some people behave on social media websites. These people spends time editing their photos and status updates just so that the content is representing the ideal version of themselves. And because everyone wants to be like by others, these people just make everything seem great to get people to give them the thumbs up.

People that are normally happy with their lives will suddenly notice they are missing something and feel miserable when comparing themselves to these people. Maybe our human mind is just not meant to take in so much details of someone else’s life!

With all things considered, I think the biggest problem to owning multiple accounts online is the lack of consistency and credibility. Having so many identities to manage will end up causing us to conflict ourselves in our different profiles and affect the trust people put on us. On the other hand, having a single identity online also does not necessarily mean that is the ‘real’ us we are putting out. We have the choice to leave digital footsteps in any way we want as long we abide to Internet laws and etiquette.

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Comment on Junwai’s Blog
Comment on Huimin’s Blog

Online Identity

I would like to assume that most of you have a profile on at least one social media website. Question is, do you maintain two accounts on a single social site?

I wear a mask. And that mask, it is not to hide who I am, but to create what I am.

-Batman

Like Batman, do you switch between different personas?

Below are my viewpoints for and against having multiple online identities.

FOR:

• Work-Life Separation
  Many employers are increasingly using channels like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn to recruit people. A study conducted by Reppler illustrates that 47% of employers actually go on social networking sites to screen prospective employees immediately after receiving their job application. If job seekers do not want an element on their personal page to jeopardize their chances, keeping a separate account for personal and work seems like a smarter choice. They can post, comment and join any communities they want using their personal account without fear that their future employers will judge them or leave an impact in their career.

More info on the study in this infographic:

• Avoids Information Overload
  With separate accounts it allows us to control and refine what we want others to see. There are different things about us that our different networks are interested about. We do not post work updates on our personal profiles to bore our friends and we do not share personal photos to let our professional contacts know irrelevant details of our personal life.

AGAINST:

• Missed Opportunities
  Most of the time when we encountered a work related problem, we will post it on our professional profile. However, this can put us in a disadvantage situation when we missed out people in our personal networks who can help us. Sometimes, the people closest to us can give us the most valuable help because they are the same people who support our dreams, vision and goals.
• Lacked in Consistency
  When companies market their product, they use a consistent set of practices and strategies to support their goal. Similarly, when we market ourselves to our future bosses or business partners, we have to be consistent so they know what we want to portray ourselves as.

Ultimately, it all comes down to how sensitive you are and how much you personally value privacy. I personally find it hard to determine which method is the right one to follow but I believe having more than one online identity is better because of privacy issues.

What about you guys?

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References:

Life Hacker. 2012. Should I Keep My Personal and Professional Identities Completely Separate Online?. [ONLINE] Available at: http://lifehacker.com/5898370/should-i-keep-my-personal-and-professional-identities-completely-separate-online. [Accessed 03 November 15].

Social Times. 2011. 91% Of Employers Use Twitter, Facebook And LinkedIn To Screen Job Applicants. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.adweek.com/socialtimes/social-media-job-screening/456574. [Accessed 03 November 15].

Jeff Jarvis. 2011. One identity or more?. [ONLINE] Available at: http://buzzmachine.com/2011/03/08/one-identity-or-more/. [Accessed 03 November 15].

Wrapping up

On my previous post, I discussed the characteristics of digital ‘residents’ and ‘visitors’. Having read some of the blog posts on the same topic from my peers, here is what I have learnt:

Cr: Tianyi’s Blog

The Visitor & Resident map is something I did not look into it further while I was doing my research. I stumbled upon Tianyi’s personal V&R map which caught my attention because I find it really relatable and easy to understand. By stating how an individual can use the web for personal or work purposes, it explains that a person experienced in using the web in their private life may not necessarily be as experienced in using it for work.

Before starting this module, I was more of a digital ‘resident’ and kept most of the social media accounts locked to the public. However, I am slowly starting to see how having a professional profile and presence online can be useful and begin to use the web in an academic way. I have done so by creating this blog, set up the ‘about me’ page, a twitter and google plus account which I use to interact with my classmates and lecturers.

If I were to construct a V&R map previously, my plotting points would be cluttered only at the top right quadrant. Now that I am more receptive of being visible online, it would probably be similar to Tian Yi’s if I were to construct one now.

Comment on Mabel’s blog
Comment on Tian Yi’s blog

Here is a video I thought it would be fun to share!

It is a sketch by one of my favorite YouTuber about the reliance of technology.

Hope everyone is ready for the new week~