Feedback from lesson 11, including cached search results and The Wayback Machine.

In this lesson we'll aim to focus on the importance of your public, digital identity:

"crafting & ... managing one's public image is a critical aspect of living in a mediated public world. ... People need to embrace the world we live in & learn to work within its framework. Don't panic about being public - embrace it ... with elegance." danah boyd

We're going to start to look at publishing on the web — at you publishing on the web. Many of you probably are web-publishers already. If you have a Facebook account, for example, you are. If you are, you should have thought about privacy and the web.  Have you checked your own privacy settings and do you understand the choices you're making? Have you read Facebook: safe use advice and are you following the advice Facebook gives? In particular:

Always follow these important safety tips when using Facebook:

• Never share your password with anyone
• Adjust your privacy settings to match your level of comfort, and review them often
• Be cautious about posting and sharing personal information, especially information that could be used to identify you or locate you offline, such as your address or telephone number
• Report users and content that violate our Terms of Use
• Block and report anyone that sends you unwanted or inappropriate communications

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In all online activity,  you must post responsibly and wisely.  How we behave online affects our reputation — and the reputation of others. Here are some simple guidelines for participating in online life: 'be civil' (Jeremy Keith's Irish music site, The Session); 'be polite and respectful in your interactions with other members' (Flickr); 'use common sense while posting' (Last.fm); "Use your best judgement. Don't forget your day job" (IBM, pdf); "IBM's integrity & reputation, as well as your own, are in your hands" (IBM Virtual World Guidelines).

We'll come back to Facebook and other social software later in the course.

In Social Network Sites: Public, Private, or What? (pdf; 2007), danah boyd set out her views on the importance of the following points — and it's crucial, before we go any further, that you reflect on these:

In the digital realm, once something is posted online it has a persistence that is not like something that is said. It is also searchable and replicable and you cannot be sure who your audience is or will be. Once something is posted online, its effects are often magnified and can be mirrored out of context. All of this requires experience to understand. Remember: when you post, you have not only your own reputation to consider but also that of others and that of the school. Every member of the community has to take responsibility for his or her actions online. If you are in doubt, it is best not to post, send an email, etc. 

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So, blogging. There's a useful timeline, The Life of the Blog, to which your teacher may refer. Blogs are now all of 11 years old:

On December 17, 1997, Barger began posting short comments and links on his own Robot Wisdom website, thus pioneering the "weblog" as it is known today. His site soon included interlinked weblog sections titled "Fun," "Art," "Issues," "Net," "Tech," "Science," "History," "Search," and "Shop". (Wikipedia)

You'll be asked to look at Blogging is great by Tim Berners-Lee (2006) and to watch Blogs in Plain English, CommonCraft (2007).

Starting your own blog: an easy way is to use Blogger — and Google has a video about using Blogger, Blogger: How to start a blog. There's also a video, Google Privacy Tips: Blogger, which you'll watch now or for prep. Call your blog by your first name (eg, "Patrick's blog"). Why your first name? Common guidance to people of your age blogging in the course of school work is that you should never use your full name. Here's some typical advice:

Anyone can access the Internet and view what you write on a blog or wiki. Even if your page is 'protected' there is nothing to stop your friends from copying your material and placing it elsewhere on the web. It is important to respect your privacy. Use your first name only and do not use pictures of yourself. If you wish to have an image associated with your blog, use a picture of something that represents you. Don’t give out any personal information about yourself or anyone else.