In an increasingly connected society, personal image management has moved beyond suits, ties or dresses and into the realm of complete identity control. With every online action recorded for future review by spouses, legal adversaries and potential employers, maintaining a comprehensively professional persona has never been more important.
Identity management starts with careful control of what information is released and through what channels. This control method, known by communication professionals as selective self presentation, is the easiest way to maintain your desired image in both the physical and virtual worlds. By carefully selecting which pictures, blog entries and forum posts are publicly released on the Internet, even someone who spends vast amounts of time online can successfully manage his online image and present a front of professional, intelligent refinement.
Some users simply can not, however, resist posting pictures of college parties, beach blowouts and other less-than-professional experiences. As social creatures, humans naturally want to bond through such outings and share memories with friends and loved ones. With some careful planning and creative use of pseudonyms, this objective can be achieved with only minimal—if any—impact to the fragile professional profile.
A major element in online identity management is careful and meaningful selection of a screen name. While some users take whatever randomly-assigned name is available, others integrate the online equivalent of a pen name into their daily life. A sales executive who happens to be passionate about dolphins, for example, may much prefer an online moniker such as SeaMammal. By subscribing to social networking and other online sites using this “handle,” the sales executive becomes one step removed from any searches on her name that a potential employer may conduct.
Name searching is, of course, not the only way to find someone on the Internet. In addition to a standard name search, many employers, clients and family members attempt to track down other ‘netizens using the unique online identifier on which people rely the most: an email address. For this reason, many users choose to maintain two separate email accounts: one personal account for staying in touch with friends and performing routine online tasks and one account reserved solely for professional communiqués.
When a user signs up for a new email address, she is generally asked to create a screen name for use on that host’s servers. A fun and easy to remember address such as SeaMammal@genericemailserver.com may be a great choice for the aforementioned sales executive, but a quick Internet search on the screen name or full email address may quickly link potential employers or clients to pictures and profiles best left undiscovered. For professional documents, such as cover letters and resumes, a more appropriate choice would simply use the individual’s given name in place of a screen name, rendering a more generic, professional and, likely, untainted email address of JaneDoe@genericemailserver.com.
With a little creative use of email accounts and screen names, online self presentation can be an excellent tool in the professional world.