Digital Footprints

Madden, Fox, Smith and Vitak. Digital Footprints. Washington DC: Pew Internet & American Life Project, December 16, 2007.
http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2007/Digital-Footprints.aspx

My previous blog was about research from 2010 that frequently referenced a prior project on digital footprints in 2007, so here is a summary on that article.

The age of Web 2.0 changed the nature of personal information online as basic contact information moved toward photos, videos, and blogs voluntarily posted on the Internet.  At the time of this study, Internet users were becoming more aware of their digital footprint, but few monitored their online presence.  In fact, only 3% said they made self-searching a regular habit. 

The authors divided online adults into four categories based on their level of concern about online information:

• Confident Creatives-  17% say they actively upload content, but do not worry about the availability of their information online.  They take steps to limit their personal information.

• Concerned and Careful-  21% are concerned about their personal information available online and proactively take steps to limit their online data.

• Worried by the Wayside-  18% do not actively limit their online information even though they are anxious about how much is available.

• Unfazed and Inactive-  43% do not worry about their personal information online nor take steps to limit the content that can be found about them. 

Basic information used to be limited to contact information such as a phone number and mailing address, but blogs and social networking sites have expanded online information to include photos, friends, colleagues, acquaintances, affiliations, videos, descriptions of daily life activities, and much more.  Being “findable and knowable” online is now considered an asset (4). 

At the time of this study, public personae were no more likely than other Internet users to create a social networking profile.  As of December 1, 2007, the top three social networking sites in the U.S. according to traffic rankings were MySpace (No. 3 overall), Facebook (No. 5,) and LinkedIn (No. 34).  It’s safe to assume that these rankings have changed dramatically over the last few years and a comparison would be very interesting. 

The idea wasn’t receiving a lot of attention yet, but here’s what the authors had to say about online information used in the job search:  As professional and personal information about job candidates, service providers and other prospective co-workers becomes increasingly accessible online, employers and others who may influence a decision to hire someone have started to turn to the Web as part of the reference-checking process. However, the potential for candidate research goes both ways; prospective employees can also find out more about places where they are interviewing for jobs, who their co-workers might be, and what praise or complaints former employees may have shared online (26).

The authors acknowledge that few Internet users were routinely managing their digital identity at the time of this study, but it was not an urgent need for them.  The Internet’s role in our lives continues to change and many are learning through experience.  In the future, will we be more forgiving of embarrassing content online?  Will we be less trusting of information online?   

Here’s a short glossary of terms that appeared in this research:

• Passive Digital Footprint: Personal data made accessible online with no deliberate intervention from an individual (3).
• Active Digital Footprint: Personal data made accessible online through deliberate posting or sharing of information by the user (4).
• Public Personae: Adult internet users who have jobs that require self-presentation or self-marketing online (8).
• “First degree” personal information includes material about you that you knowingly provide (18). 
• “Second degree” personal information is material about you that may not be connected to your real name or is provided by someone else, with or without your knowledge (18).