My Digital Footprint (TT#1)

Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat are the main online services I use.  Aside from social media platforms, I also find myself using Yahoo! to access their fantasy hockey leagues, NHL.com for the latest NHL news and since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, CBC.ca for the latest news and updates.  

Have you ever googled yourself? 

When I google, "Matt McCorrister" I find my Manitoba Master Angler profile, Facebook profile link, an old high school hockey roster, as well as a link to my Twitter profile and other sports links.  

What is meant by having a "digital identity" or "digital footprint"?  (See video below.)

Keeping a clean digital identity is my number one goal when utilizing the internet and its variety of services.  In becoming a teacher - or moving into any profession for that matter - the people in charge of hiring you will most certainly type your name into google to see what shows up.  Being a teacher specifically attracts students to search your name in different social media platforms and in google as well.  If a student or employer was to search my name and found a video of me shotgunning a beer, it's safe to say our relationship would be strained and the level of respect would be diminished - that's if I wasn't fired on the spot!

In terms of my current digital identity, you can tell I love to fish, hunt and spend time outdoors.  I'm not super active in creating my own tweets on twitter, but I do like to retweet and share relevant and interesting posts.  When I can, I like to advocate for mental health awareness and the importance of keeping the conversation going.  I believe I set a solid example for my future students in the way I represent myself on the web.  

Teaching students to hold a positive digital identity is important to what they may run into in the future.  Students lack the ability to see further than a couple of weeks down the line, so to convince them that what they are posting today may have an effect on them in the coming years is difficult.  I do believe, as teachers, we should give students the tools to create a positive online identity, so they can avoid having to deal with the possible negative impacts of a less than ideal digital identity down the road.