Is it possible to have two identities?

Okay, so this may seem like a weird title and topic for a social media blog…but by “identities” I mean online identities.

Do you think it’s possible to have two online identities?

What do I mean?

The web is a huge place; you can either be yourself or an idealised version of yourself. But is it possible to do both? I believe, to a certain extent, that it is possible. I think you can use the internet for both being yourself (personal) and creating an idealised version of yourself, in this case, a professional “version” of you (a version that is heavily censored/monitored/edited).

The internet allows you to portray yourself as whoever you want to be, meaning you’re able to ONLY post things online that you want others to see. You can, for example, post edited images of yourself onto your Instagram profile – which would give your followers a certain impression – you decide the impression you want to give. YOU choose what people see/think.

It is easy enough to post pictures on Facebook of the night before, but would you want a professional who may potentially hire you to see your drunken pictures?
It’s easy enough to use Facebook privacy settings to stop these from being seen, but it isn’t always easy monitoring, editing and changing articles, websites etc. you may have been signed up to when you were younger – all these things can be found in a Google search (of your name) which will (most likely) be found by a future employer.

What can you do?

What can you do to ensure that your past profiles, etc. are invisible to a prospective employer? Well, first things first DELETE THEM. But, what do you do if you’ve forgotten your Myspace password, for example? Or if you’ve got a profile on a website that won’t allow you to delete that  profile?
If you can’t delete your profile then DETACH it from you. For example, change the email address (if possible), change your name on the profile so it’s made up…change ALL of your details so that the profile can no longer be associated with you.

Even though it’s hard to maintain two online identities it’s possible, however it’s (in my opinion) impossible to stop these two identities from overlapping…after all it’s YOUR name attached to both ‘identities’.

You just have to bare in mind that – you shouldn’t post anything on the internet that you’d be ashamed of, or embarrassed by. Only post things to the internet if you’re happy to post them. After all, you don’t have to put EVERYTHING about you online – YOU CHOOSE what you put out there about yourself. If it’s out there then it’ll be found.

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If you’d like to contact me about blogging for me or to ask me a question CLICK HERE

 

Stumbleupon as a marketing tool?

A lot of people use social media websites such as Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest to increase traffic to their blog, and to basically market their blog. Stumbleupon may be unknown to a few people, but if you’re into social media I’m assuming that you’ll have AT LEAST heard of Stumbleupon.
I’ve been thinking for the past week “what could my next blog post be?” and it occurred to me that I don’t, 100%, know what Stumbleupon is, so I thought I’d do a little research, find out what other people are saying and see what you think to it…have you used Stumbleupon? If not, maybe you’re like me and don’t really know what Stumbleupon’s purpose is. Well if you want to know, keep reading…

What is Stumbleupon?

It’s both a social bookmarking tool and a social voting tool.

Stumbleupon allows you to save (bookmark) the links to pages which you like, which is similar to other online bookmarking tools such as Pocket, Instapaper and Delicious.

Also it allows you to either thumbs up or thumbs down articles, if you like an article you are randomly shown when you press the “stumble” button you can hit the ‘thumbs up’ button, if you don’t like the article then you can hit ‘thumbs down’.

How to use Stumbleupon?

Go to www.stumbleupon.com

Sign up for free and what interests you – this will help Stumbleupon to find articles of interest to you

It’s that simple, then you can ‘start stumbling’.

 

I have shared my blog posts on Stumbleupon and have found that I have gained quite a bit of traffic, so it’s definitely a good marketing tool.

BUT could it be the next big thing in the marketing world? …I don’t know about that. I just don’t quite get it.

I will continue researching about Stumbleupon, researching how other bloggers/marketers are using Stumbleupon to promote themselves and I’ll get back to you with a “how to use Stumbleupon as a marketing tool” type post, or something similar.

Let me know if you’ve used Stumbleupon or point me in the right direction – let me know how you use stumbleupon as a marketing tool.

As always I enjoy hearing your thoughts and hearing about what methods for marketing you do.

Don’t hesitate to contact me if you’d like to guest blog for

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Stay tuned to my blog as my next blog post will be done by a guest blogger..

Follow me on my social media, if you don’t already:

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WANTED: Guest bloggers

Just a quick post to tell you all that I’m looking for guest bloggers.

I thought it would be great to give my followers the opportunity to guest blog on my blog.

If you would like to guest blog for me, or would just like more information then get in contact by clicking here

The only requirement to guest blog for me is that you’re a blogger who blogs about social media, marketing…similar topics to me (of course). If your blog post is featured on my blog then I’ll give you full credit with links to your blog and social media sites.

Also, if you would like me to feature on your blog I’d be happy to collaborate!

Don’t hesitate to contact me. Follow me on my social media, if you don’t already:

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Couples Now Demanding ‘Social Media Prenups’

I was searching the internet for social media (SM) related news for you guys and came across this, and wondered what you thought. Is this taking things over the top regarding SM? Or is this the beginning of SM taking over our lives, shaping how we act/behave?

Sky News have reported that couples, in America, have begun asking their attorney’s for social media clauses in prenuptial agreements. According to a top attorney a third of her clients are asking for this clause to be added to their prenup. A breach of this prenup agreement can result in a fine of up to $50,000 (£29,700).

Read the original story below:

Couples Now Demanding ‘Social Media Prenups’.

and here’s another, similar, post by The Daily Mail

Are couples taking social media too far/too seriously?

What are your thoughts on this story?

Don’t forget to connect with me on my Social media

• Twitter
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5 MUST HAVE apps for students going abroad

If you’re a student and are looking to go abroad, then what apps will you need? Yes, I really did just say ‘what apps will you need’!!!!

The time has come where we no longer only consider what we need to pack to take with us, but (apparently) we are considering what apps we’ll need installed before we journey away from what we deem ‘home’, in order to stay in contact with our friends and family.

Top 10 apps to install before going abroad:

1. This one may seem obvious (to some), but a great app to have whilst abroad would be WhatsApp. WhatsApp is a FREE to download app which allows you to contact your family via. using 3G or WiFi services. You can send multimedia messages, enjoy group chats, no pins or usernames (uses your mobile phone number), no international charges. Available on BOTH iPhone and Android
2. Viber – Make calls to anyone anywhere in the world for free with Viber, as long as the person you want to contact has the application on their phone. It is similar to Skype, but without the video calling, although you can send video messages and text as well. Available on BOTH iPhone and Android
3. Skyscanner – Plan your next trip home (or adventure to another country) and find the cheapest flights using the handy search results display, which allows you to view prices by day, week, month or even a whole year. It also directs you to the cheapest company for each flight when booking. Available on BOTH iPhone and Android.
4. XE currency converter – If you’re a student and you’re going abroad then you’re definitely going to have to be watching your pennies. This app lets you know just how far your money is going with this currency converter, which stores the latest rates to give an accurate figure when you’re not connected to WIFI or 3G. It also comes in a selection of different languages, which is a bonus. Available on iPhone and Android
5. BBC Weather – you never know what the weather is going to be like, so be equipped with a weather app installed onto your device. This app allows you to have several locations available at the swipe of a finger, so you’re able to check the weather in multiple countries. This app is free and is available on iPhone and Android.

Don’t forget to connect with me on my Social media

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Related articles

The Independent: http://www.independent.co.uk/student/study-abroad/10-musthave-apps-for-students-on-their-year-abroad-9301734.html

TheStudyAbroadBlog: http://thestudyabroadblog.com/top-50-iphone-apps-studying-abroad/

DiscoverExcursionsBlog: http://discoverexcursionsblog.com/the-13-best-apps-for-traveling-abroad/

The Internet.

I know the internet is used by millions of people on a day to day basis but I wonder what it would be like without the internet. Would people feel socially outcast? Would people feel as self conscious? Would there be as many medical/scientific advances? Would people be more sociable?

Without the internet the world would be a completely different place.

For me the internet is a vital part of every day life; after all I am a student studying a media degree…making the internet important for my studies. The internet enables people, who in the “real world” may never meet, to speak…converse…get to know one another. The internet can create relationships, partnerships, careers.

On the other hand the internet can break relationships, it can destroy someone’s career…I believe the internet is what you make of it. If you put information, pictures etc. you aren’t proud of on the internet then, at the end of the day, you’ve only got yourself to blame if that information, or a certain image, comes round to bite you.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Don’t forget to interact with me on:

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LinkedIn

Connect with me

 

The Internet is becoming the town square for the global village of tomorrow.
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/b/billgates384628.html#j5sboPjPoFdckALj.99

The Internet is becoming the town square for the global village of tomorrow.
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/internet.html#E7bc45PE2uzrz1Um.99

The Internet is becoming the town square for the global village of tomorrow.
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/internet.html#E7bc45PE2uzrz1Um.99

Twitter’s NEW Layout

Don’t be too shocked, YES! I am back and blogging again…

I just want to use this post as a quick ‘hello I’m back post’ and quick explanation of my absence , also to also raise a social media point (which is what this blog is all about!!)

I had been busy with my university course, working to deadlines, sorting out my placement for next month and looking/applying for jobs. It was nice to have a little break, but I’m glad to be back and blogging about SM and chatting to all of you again. I would also like to thank you all for still reading my blog and thank you for taking an interest in the posts I write. Also, welcome to my new followers and THANK YOU!

Right, back to the social media…

So, Twitter have rolled out a new layout. I think they’re only rolling it out slowly? or to a few people to begin with? (I could be wrong). Because my Twitter account has not yet been updated to the new layout.

I had read earlier in the year about Twitter possibly rolling out a ‘Facebook’ type layout, but until now, because I’ve actually seen the layout first hand, I didn’t realise how Facebook like this layout would be. It’s too Facebook like, in my opinion. What are your thoughts?

As my profile hasn’t been updated to this layout I can’t really comment on the functionality, i.e. how easy it is to find buttons etc. However, I am hoping I don’t get this layout any time soon because I’m not keen on the appearance of it. What are your thoughts on the appearance? Is it easy to use (if you have this layout)? I’d love to know, maybe I’m just judging it’s appearance and it’s actually so much better to use!!

Twitter may be dramatically trying to change their layout so more users use the desktop version of Twitter again? Because I for one can tell you that 80% of the time I use the Twitter app on my HTC and know that there are a lot more mobile users of Twitter!!

Let me know your thoughts on the new Twitter layout

I’d also love to know if any of you use the desktop version more than the mobile version + reasons?

 

⌲Twitter

⌲LinkedIn

⌲Facebook

⌲Pinterest

⌲Bloglovin

What Social Media should I be using?

Browsing through my WordPress and Twitter feeds (where I have most followers and interactivity) I see a lot of people questioning; “what social media should I be using?”. It would seem that, even though people want to get their content (blog, website etc.) out there, they’re either A) reluctant to join dozens of social media sites, or B) just don’t have the time.

Personally, I am a member of Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Google+, Pinterest and, of course, WordPress!! This may seem a bit unnecessary to some people, while other people may also be members of these social networking sites. HOWEVER, and this (to me) is the most important part, even though I am a member of all these different social media sites, I have 3 primary ‘go-to’ sites – 3 sites which I will ALWAYS update (whether it be asking a question or posting a newly published blog post).

My ‘go-to’ sites consist of LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook as I (personally) have found these create the most traffic to my blog! These are the 3 sites which work best for me…it may not be that way for you, though. If this isn’t the way you do it, how do you manage your social networking sites? Do you have 3 (maybe more, maybe less) ‘go-to’ sites? I’d love to know how you manage your social media sites.

Basically, if you’re new to blogging, or are just getting into integrating your social media; find out what works best for YOU. Maybe you’ll find posting a link to a couple of your blog posts every 3-4 hours (or whenever you feel is necessary) on 2 different social media platforms is enough. If that works best for you then I say go for it. It’s entirely dependent on yourself; how much time you have, and so..

If you have any questions don’t hesitate to connect with me, after all I’m on enough social media for you to reach me!Alternatively, you can contact me here (via email).

Thank you for reading, I’ll see you in my next post.

How do I make my LinkedIn Profile Anonymous?

If you use LinkedIn then you’ll know that when people view your profile you’re able to see just who viewed your profile, like so;

Unless, of course, you have changed your settings to make yourself anonymous. Do you want to make your profile anonymous, so people don’t know you’ve viewed their profile? Keep reading to find out how…

Making your profile anonymous when viewing somebody else’s LinkedIn profile

Go to privacy & settings > profile

When you’re at the following screen:

click “Select what others see when you’ve viewed their profile“

The box above then gives you the options to remain as a visible profile, be anonymous or appear as somebody from your organisation/school/workplace etc.

Don’t hesitate to ask me any further questions below in the comments or via. Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn