What are Digital Vistors and Residents?

Visitors – 

A digital visitor is a person who has already decided what they’re trying to achieve then select a tool and uses that tool to perform a task then goes back offline.

In short, we are considered digital visitors when we leave behind no traces of ourselves online.

Examples of this are when we use online banking or book a hotel room online.

Residents – 

This is the opposite of a digital visitor where we leave behind a social trace of ourselves for example by creating an account online, commenting on other people’sposts and regularly contributing to things like Instagram. Digital residents are considered to live out a portion of their lives online.

That said each of us cannot be categorized strictly into one of these two. It depends on how we use each platform that we’re on. This is where we use a V + R diagram to better describe our digital presence online.

V + R Diagram 

Given here is my V + R diagram and I’ve written below why/how I chose each location.  The size of the shape depicts how much I use each of them.

Gmail – I get very few emails related to UVic and most of my emails consist of promotions from different shops I’ve purchased goods at.

Search – I use this for institutional purposes like going on Wikipedia to get information for an assignment I’m doing or for personal purposes like looking up cooking recipes.

Whatsapp – Socialise with my friends and family who are back in Sri Lanka

Instagram – Put posts from time to time and post stories online to let my followers know what I’m up to.

Snapchat – Send snaps daily

Netflix – I watch Netflix to relax

Online Banking – To manage my credit card bills and check my bank balance online.

Shein – I do online shopping about once a month

Facebook – I created this for the purpose of joining UVic FB groups.

TikTok – Even though it is one of my most frequently used apps I don’t post on here I just look through my feed and watch videos that other people have shared.

Brightspace – I access almost all of my course information on here as well as upload completed work.

LinkedIn – I have an account created to find jobs but I haven’t used it or updated it in a while

Blog – Used for the course EDCI 338 to share my thoughts on readings that were provided 

Mattermost – To discuss readings in EDCI 338 with my group

GoogleDocs – For school (Used instead of Microsoft word) and work resumes

Questions for this session

1)    What digital platforms are students currently using to develop their professional network?

Linkedin – To connect with other professionals online

Instagram, Whatsapp, Tiktok – Creators that have their own brand create a separate account to advertise their products as well as follow other creators that are in the same industry.

University career portals – To join workshops conducted by business professionals and meet career advisors to get help with resumes and cover letters.

2)    What could the student consider in expanding their professional learning network?

The legitimacy of the organization and/or professional that they’re building the connection with. 

Does this connection aid in improving their knowledge in that particular industry they’re in?

Is this person reliable and would they be willing to give advice and be of help if needed? 

3)    How does data privacy and security limit and/or promote a PLN?

It might limit the growth of a PLN in the beginning because of the time it will take to trust a person. But once a connection is made and is proved as trustworthy and reliable a person can use that connections network to grow their own PLN. Because you know that the people they recommend would also most likely be trustworthy.

4)    In your network, how can you create a digital identity/ reputation?

Carefully selecting what we post online through any social media platform and making sure to not post anything that may harm your professional life in the future.

5)    Consider how an employer would respond if you applied for a job with them and they assessed your social media presence via your digital identity.

The social media platform that I use the most is Instagram and I have never to my knowledge put inappropriate content that may harm my professional life. I usually post about travel or funny posts but never anything that would offend someone. So I feel if an employer assessed my social media presence online they would be very pleased with the outcome.