Ohh, springtime. A time when a young [person]’s fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love, the trees are a-bloom, and there seems to be a new event every day at Agnes Scott.* This particular roundtable Discussion event is one that’s been in the idea pipeline for me and my good friend and Writing Center Coordinator Neil Simpkins (’10) for some time, and we’ll be joined by the Interactive Communications Fellow, Kimberly Brewer (’10). Becoming a “responsible citizen of the Internet” is, admittedly, a broad topic to cover in an hour. So we split guiding topics of discussion amongst the three of us, in the hopes that a roundtable discussion will make for a worthwhile collaborative experience!

So, on my end: I’ll bring up a discussion topic about Blogging and ePortfolios — namely, how to present yourself in the best possible light. As Social networks have proven a force not only in job searches, but talent recruitment by potential employers, it’s important to put your best foot forward in terms of your online presence. Your well-designed, thoughtfully crafted ePortfolio could rise to the top of the Google search under your name, and has the ability to give you an advantage in a tough job market! On the other hand, the second search result might be that LiveJournal you forgot to delete from when you were 14 and angsty … which may not be the face you want to show off to HR for a position you’d applied for.

The underlying theme here is digital responsibility.

Key players of Social Media are constantly rotating (think MySpace to Facebook), and you want to make sure you’re on top of the digital dialogue you’ve produced. What is considered positive content? How can you contribute to productive discussion and content with social and digital networks? What are some “best practices” for blogging and building ePortfolios?

My fellow (heh) discussion leaders will be tackling issues of general social media Netiquette (think standbys like Facebook, Twitter, and others), building your online “brand,” and the significance of what (and how) you post. We’ll also talk about the impact and possible repercussions of certain digital content — and give some real life examples of the heavier implications of sharing.

The event is open to the community at large, and will be held in the Alston Student Center from 1-2 PM, so feel free to bring your lunch! The event will also be filmed by my lovely colleagues from the Educational Technology Center — so if you’re unable to attend, I’ll be posting that video on this site afterward.

Happy Wednesday, everyone! I hope I’ll see you tomorrow afternoon.

*Tennyson, Alfred Lord. “Locksley Hall.” Representative Poetry Online. University of Toronto Libraries. 6 April 2011. <http://rpo.library.utoronto.ca/poem/2161.html>.

Filed under: Agnes Scott Events, Netiquette, Reflection, Social Media, Why You Should Blog Tagged: Agnes Scott, blogging, brainstorming, career planning, collaboration, community-building, conversations, e-portfolio, process, tips, visual literacy, writing center