Mapping Out Your Digital Presence

Navigating academic social networking sites (ASNS), social media sites, and other academic platforms all begin with the user establishing a digital profile. Using ASNS or social media platforms presents opportunities for users to develop connections and to communicate with others irrespective of geographical or financial barriers. One issue using these platforms is that there is no coordination across universities, institutions, or academia in general with how networking and social media sites are used or developed within the academic community. Coordinated guidelines developed to introduce social media best practices and even recommendations about the appropriate platforms for use would bring some order to this complex issue. As williams and Woodacre identified, many times, academics, researchers, or students have no understanding if a certain technology is officially endorsed and supported by an organization. Faculty and academics need guidance on how to best utilize digital platforms, including social media, to enhance teaching, dissemination of work, and learning. The availability of support staff who know and understand the different tools that are available is an important element of institutional-level support. In this chapter we will focus on current and future issues with establishing digital identities and using digital platforms in the academic community.