Online Reputation

Having a good reputation is very important, especially if you have an online presence. Now-a-days people can type your name into any search engine and find almost anything about you. It is very important to be careful about what you put on social media sites because by default your social media platforms will be some of the first things people may see about you.

I have been assigned to do an online reputation search of a person in my social media and communication class, Blake R. Anderson. Let me just say that I thought this assignment was going to be easy and it is the furthest thing from easy. Blake Anderson is a very common name so it has been very difficult to find the exact Blake Anderson that is in my class. When I type his name into Google, the first thing that comes up is the American actor, producer, comedian, and screenwriter. Who also happens to have the same middle initial of the kid in my class. You can only imagine my frustration, as it took me about an hour just to find Blake’s Linkedin profile. I have had to base all my information solely off of his Linkedin profile. He has a Twitter but the only tweets he has posted are the ones we were supposed to do for this class, so I could not find any solid information on that platform.

I know Blake pretty well, as he has been in many of my communications classes and we are majoring in the same thing. He is expecting to graduate in 2015 and is from the greater salt lake area. Just from talking with him I can tell he is a very intelligent and easy going guy but trying to find online information about him has been pretty difficult.

The best information I could get off of his Twitter was from his profile picture. He is wearing goggles so I would assume he loves to ski or snowboard just like everyone else that lives in Utah. His Twitter name is Balakie, which is unique and original. I believe he knows that he pretty much needs to have a creative name because of the other MILLIONS of Blake Andersons in the world.

From his Linkedin profile it looks like he has just changed jobs and is now working as a production specialist at Thermo Fisher Scientific. Thermo Fisher Scientific is an American multinational, biotechnology product development company. He leads a group of employees at his job on a daily basis so I would assume he has good work ethics and communication skills. Blake has also worked as a Greens-keeper in San Diego, California over the summer which means he must have some type of interest in Golf. He has also worked as Direct Sales Representative in Columbus, Ohio the summer before that. This tells me he is very willing to relocate over the summer to get the job he is looking for.

When I type most names into Google the first thing that comes up is their Facebook accounts but that was not the case with Blake. This leads me to assume that he is not extremely active on Facebook or other social media sites.

It is very interesting to see the different information you can gather about a person just by seeing their social media sites. It is of the utmost importance to be careful about what you put online, as it is accessible to anyone willing to look.   

https://twitter.com/balakie24

https://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=312225019&authType=NAME_SEARCH&authToken=7Zfp&locale=en_US&srchid=3958180741424889829542&srchindex=1&srchtotal=249&trk=vsrp_people_res_name&trkInfo=VSRPsearchId%3A3958180741424889829542%2CVSRPtargetId%3A312225019%2CVSRPcmpt%3Aprimary

Social networking privacy and security settings

There are so many positive outcomes of social networking sites. You can connect with so many different people at any time and any where. Though, people do not realize how important it is to know and understand their privacy and security settings on their networking sites.

As soon as I get a new social media account one of the first things it asks me to do is read and accept the “Terms of service” or “privacy policy” page. Though lets be honest, very few people actually attempt to read the small print on those pages. It just tends to take to long and we think that it is useless information. If you actually take the time to read it, you will find it to be very valuable information. The social networks privacy policy will explain how the social network will collect and use information about people who visit the site.

 

Some important key points to keep in mind when reviewing the privacy policy is to start at the end of the document. A lot of the most important can be found at the end of the page. Also note the location and language of the privacy policy. Can you easily understand what it is saying and is it easily accessible? It is of the utmost importance to protect yourself on social media sites. It is recommended that you don’t give away your age, date of birth or place of birth as that can be useful to identity thieves or data mining companies.

According to the article I read, common sense and skepticism are some of the strongest tools you can have to protect yourself. Though I will admit for many people, common sense is not very common. Not only do you want to protect yourself from people who are willing to steal your identity but you want to make sure the information that you put on social media sites is appropriate. Now-a-days companies are constantly checking social media sites for potential employees to see if they can find any red flags. This goes back to privacy settings, make sure that if you don’t want people you don’t know to see your Facebook page that you have certain privacy settings on.

The facebook link below has some very valuable information, especially under the “manage settings for how you connect” tab. Facebook is a powerhouse social media platform and it’s so important to be smart when using it. You will never regret spending the time learning how to increase your privacy and security.

 https://www.privacyrights.org/social-networking-privacy-how-be-safe-secure-and-social

https://www.facebook.com/help/325807937506242/

Collaborative and Distance Communication Platform

When I think of a communication platform that brings people together over distances, my mind automatically goes to Skype and Facetime. There are over 5 million Skype users and rightfully so. I have used this platform more times then I can count, connecting with people in different areas and it has served its purpose. The downside to Skype is that you have to have your computer on and your Skype browser turned on in order to receive calls.  One major difference is that Facetime (which was introduced about 4 years ago) allows you to receive calls straight to your phone just like getting a regular phone call.

 

Also, Skype allows for more then 2 people to connect at one time but Facetime is restricted in that means. It only allows 2 people at a time. Skype is mostly used on the computer because you have to pay if you want to use it on your phone. Facetime is absolutely free on your smart phone so that is another plus. I find this to be very convenient that you don’t have to be sitting down in front of a computer screen to be able to video chat with someone. A lot of people are constantly busy so Facetiming helps if you want to video chat with someone while you’re on the go.  

Lastly, video and audio quality is a huge factor in deciding which distance platform you want to use. According to the articles I read, Skype has good video quality but the only critique was the audio lag. Facetime and Skype were compared side by side using the exact same Wi-Fi signal and it turns out the Facetime was favored in both video and audio quality. It was not as pixelated or blurry as compared to Skype.  Personally I have had some difficulties using both Facetime and Skype. They both glitch constantly, but that could be due to my horrible Wi-Fi L.  

The invention of video calling was a brilliant idea. Connecting with people that you may not see that often can be a lifesaver. I know the audio and video quality can only get better from here and I am excited for what the future holds when it comes to communication and distance platforms.

 http://www.guidingtech.com/17889/skype-vs-facetime-best-video-calling-ios/

http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/how-to/a8250/should-you-use-skype-facetime-or-google-plus-hangouts-13992608/