I have a fairly basic name with nothing uncommon or unique
about it. The thing is, it can bring some confusion for new friends when we both
decide to digitally interact- I am difficult to find on Facebook, Skype,
Twitter and Instagram.
Amidst all the occasional confusion I continue to represent
myself online by sharing my photos and activities, opinions, likes and dislikes
with whoever is out there. I don’t always agree with the privacy options, or
lack of, but I do not change who I am to bypass it, which is why my most recent Facebook profile pictures can be referred to as a ‘glamour shot’ to
auto-objectify myself to others’ (Hills 2009, p.118) rather than to provide a
non-representation of myself.
My Facebook privacy settings are fairly strict (I
checked again this morning to just make sure) only my friends can view my
profile pictures and other pictures I have been ‘tagged’ in. The cover photo,
currently one from the movie Dodgeball,
is the public so I try to limit the information shared on Facebook to my 1,069
friends who span from Australia, England, Germany and the USA…so really I'm not
all that private.
Facebook I find is my only networking site to
immediately communicate with the friends I have here and all over the world.
Creeber and Martin (2009, p.7) identify this by commenting “we are now in touch
with people and events internationally with a frequency, speed, quality and
affordability never imaginable in the analogue age.”
My Twitter profile is extremely bland, partly because
I'm a new user still learning about ‘tweets’ and ‘retweets’. It is not at all
extensive and contributes little to my online profile, particularly in
comparison with my Facebook identity. However, having never played cricket or
particularly enjoy the game, 8/11 tweets have been about the #ashes. I have six
people following so the audience that I am broadcasting to is of miniscule
proportions.
I have accidentally created and maintained the Twitter version of an abstract image to stand in for myself. (Hills 2009, p.118)
My Instagram profile, similar to my Facebook,
is set on private; I have posted 11 photos and follow 202 people. The last
photo I posted was in June so once again the images I supply can be dated or
misrepresented to those who view them. I do find Instagram the most enjoyable
of my social profiles, as it is remarkably quick to use and scan through other
people’s profiles. After all a picture tells a thousand words. How many a
real-time moving picture tells is anybody’s guess. Skype is my main contact
tool to my friends and family living abroad, however since 2011 when Facebook added this feature to their instant messaging I have been using Skype less and
less.
I hope to use more of Twitter in the future to expand my
online self; I have no intention of joining AboutMe or Tumblr as they do not
appeal to me. I am yet to join LinkedIn however I do see myself attempting it
in the near future.
References:
Creeber, G & Martin, R 2009, Digital Cultures: Understanding New Media, Open University Press, Maidenhead, United Kingdom.
Hills, M 2009, Case study: social
networking and self-identity‘, in Creeber, G and Martin, R (eds.), Digital Cultures: Understanding New Media, Open University Press, Maidenhead, United Kingdom.
