The true concept of “Authenticity”

The development of an “authentic” online professional profile is multi-dimensional. Most of the ideas that were shared among my peers were pretty insightful. Some details of the development of the “authenticity” aspect were discussed in specifics. While others, took a rather broad approach on the subject.

I was intrigued by some of the analogies introduced by my peers. Specifically, Sara (2014) built the concept upon a “product” on the shelves of a supermarket, while Zoe (2014) used the concept of “advertising”. These concepts triggered my curiosity upon what is truly an “authentic” profile, which makes it unique and successful. This led me to look deeper into it and I was inspired by a concept introduced by Simon Sinek (2009) on “the Golden Circle” in a talk he gave on “How great leaders inspire action”:

By adopting this concept, I was able to present the ideas in the following diagram:

“The Golden Circle” adapted from Simon Sinek (2009)

Little did we realize the importance of “starting with why”. Simon (2009) mentioned that “people don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it”. Upon bringing this concept forward, I realized that “recruiters” buy the “authenticity” of your profile. This is further supported by some of the video CVs that were shared among my peers. The “authenticity” of these candidates was the main reason why they were successful.

I believe that this powerful concept puts things in a clearer perspective. Of the millions of profiles out there in the digital sphere, we realized that achieving “authenticity” is a challenge. This concept is not only evident in terms of employability, but in many different aspects as well. The whole idea of “marketing” may also be built upon this concept, as explained by Simon (2009) in the video!

References:

Lee, S.D., 2014. Personal Branding – your career insurance! Available at: http://saradanlee.wordpress.com/2014/12/03/personal-branding-your-career-insurance/comment-page-1/#comment-9 [Accessed December 4, 2014].

Review, H.B., 2013. The Future of You. Harvard Business Review. Available at: https://hbr.org/2013/01/the-future-of-you/ [Accessed December 3, 2014].

Sinek, S., 2009. TED: How great leaders inspire action. Available at: http://www.ted.com/talks/simon_sinek_how_great_leaders_inspire_action?language=en#t-188800 [Accessed December 4, 2014].

Sinek, S., 2014. Start With Why. Available at: https://www.startwithwhy.com [Accessed December 4, 2014].

Yee, Z., 2014. Online meets Offline. Available at: http://zoeyeeze.wordpress.com/2014/12/03/online-meets-offline/comment-page-1/#comment-13 [Accessed December 4, 2014].

Comments made on:

Lee, S.D., 2014. Personal Branding – your career insurance! Available at: http://saradanlee.wordpress.com/2014/12/03/personal-branding-your-career-insurance/comment-page-1/#comment-9 [Accessed December 4, 2014].

Yee, Z., 2014. Online meets Offline. Available at: http://zoeyeeze.wordpress.com/2014/12/03/online-meets-offline/comment-page-1/#comment-13 [Accessed December 4, 2014].

Embracing the blurred lines

“Authenticity” is essential in the development of our online professional profile. As we have embarked on topics such as the “Digital visitor-resident continuum” and “Multiple online identities”, the true judgment of “authenticity” is questionable. The issue of drawing the line between personal and professional is inevitable. However, we must realize that this line is getting blurry and as much as we do not want them to be, it is prominent (Forbes 2014). Rather than being cynical about this, might as well embrace it to realize the full potential of it! To achieve this, the development of an “authentic” online professional profile is imperative.

1. Personal Audit
“Why you are a complete idiot if you don’t Google yourself”. In this article, Roger Dooley (2014) discusses the psychology behind our online reputation. As more employers are currently relying on the Web to seek out talent and perform employment background search (Forbes 2011), this would be a crucial step in creating an “authentic” online professional profile.

2. Personal Branding
Upon completing the first step, there may be some things that you may not be too fond of. As we have realized by now, the control that we have over our “online identities” may be limited. This is where personal branding comes into play. Harvard Business Review (2013) reveals that branding is all about being “distinctive, predictable and meaningful”. Integration of all the social media platforms that you utilize may be the key to this. Curation of content on your social media platforms should not be disregarded. “Cleaning up” would be a much simpler term!

The growth of recruitment through social media is staggering. A study by Jobvite (2014) reveals that 73% of recruiters have hired a candidate through social media. But the real question is, what makes these people stand out?

3. “Hyperconnectivity”
Harvard Business Review (2013) reveals this “skill” as one of the three things to master in order to distinct yourself from the rest. But what exactly is “hyperconnectivity”? As defined in the article, it is the “optimization of online experience for others”. This plays a huge role in developing an “authentic” online professional profile. When a reputation is built upon “authenticity”, the credibility of the profile is increased dramatically.

I believe that the development of an “authentic” online professional profile is an iterative process. The user must be able to integrate and curate the content of his information wisely. Only then will the “authenticity” be unquestionable!

References:

Dooley, R., 2014. Why You Are a Complete Idiot If You Don’t Google Yourself. Available at: http://www.neurosciencemarketing.com/blog/articles/google-yourself.htm [Accessed December 3, 2014].

Forbes, 2011. 5 Reasons Why Your Online Presence Will Replace Your Resume in 10 years. Forbes. Available at: http://www.forbes.com/sites/danschawbel/2011/02/21/5-reasons-why-your-online-presence-will-replace-your-resume-in-10-years/ [Accessed December 3, 2014].

Forbes, 2014. Trying To Manage Millennials? Give Up And Lead Them Instead. Forbes. Available at: http://www.forbes.com/sites/georgebradt/2014/05/27/trying-to-manage-millennials-give-up-and-lead-them-instead/ [Accessed December 3, 2014].

Jobvite, 2014. Social Recruiting Survey 2014, United States. Available at: https://www.jobvite.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Jobvite_SocialRecruiting_Survey2014.pdf.

Review, H.B., 2013. The Future of You. Harvard Business Review. Available at: https://hbr.org/2013/01/the-future-of-you/ [Accessed December 3, 2014].

photo credit: Stuck in Customs via photopin cc

Online identities forming the “Semantic Web”

The argument for and against multiple online identities is inevitable. As I took on a very skeptical approach towards the topic, I was drawn into mostly the negative aspects that overshadow the real value of the argument. However, after gathering much insight from the various works of my peers, it was clear to me that I have been missing out on the constructive aspect of the argument.

I was very much drawn by Jeanne’s post on how our online identities may impact our employability. As she was discussing this from a view of having a distinct separation between personal and professional sphere, I realized that it was merely impossible to draw this line. After the Hangout#6 with Cristina Costa, I was intrigued by her view on “personal branding” of our online identity. I supported her stand on having a single identity, which we would be in much control of, rather than having multiple identities to draw the line.

Another work that I was pretty fascinated even though the point was briefly mentioned was Angie’s post. She mentioned about how it is a “marketers’ dream come true” when we “sign off” our personal data upon engaging in social media activities. This is prominent, as we have embarked on Web 2.0, where the primary focus is on “interactivity”. This is evident even on sites that require the use of cookies to collect data about our online engagement. As users, we have to be aware of the privacy issues that may be questionable. From a marketing perspective, this is simply astonishing.

The Web is slowly learning our identities, how we behave, who we are. I do strongly believe that with the existence of the “Semantic Web” in the not too distant future, our online identities will play a huge role both in the marketing perspective and our professional lives.

References:

Chu, J., 2014. Who are you, exactly? Available at: https://jeannechucy.wordpress.com/2014/12/01/who-are-you-online-identity/#respond [Accessed December 2, 2014].

Costa, C. & Torres, R., 2011. To be or not to be , the importance of Digital Identity in the networked society. Available at: http://eft.educom.pt/index.php/eft/article/view/216/126.

Ng, A., 2014. Is your digital footprint within your control? Available at: http://yjangie.wordpress.com/2014/12/01/is-your-digital-footprint-within-your-control/comment-page-1/#comment-9 [Accessed December 2, 2014].

TED, 2013. What will a future without secrets look like? TED. Available at: http://www.ted.com/talks/alessandro_acquisti_why_privacy_matters [Accessed December 1, 2014].

Wired, 2014. From E-Commerce to Web 3.0: Let the bots do the shopping. Wired. Available at: http://www.wired.com/2014/09/e-commerce-to-web-3-0/ [Accessed December 1, 2014].

Comments made on:

Chu, J., 2014. Who are you, exactly? Available at: https://jeannechucy.wordpress.com/2014/12/01/who-are-you-online-identity/#respond [Accessed December 2, 2014].

Ng, A., 2014. Is your digital footprint within your control? Available at: http://yjangie.wordpress.com/2014/12/01/is-your-digital-footprint-within-your-control/comment-page-1/#comment-9 [Accessed December 2, 2014].