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  • Essay / Book Review - 1597

    IntroductionDuring my undergraduate years at the University of South Carolina, I became involved in a few clubs and organizations. One of the organizations I invested the most time in was College Ambassadors. As an ambassador, I organize tours for prospective students and manage the visitor center; as well as becoming great friends with my fellow tour guides. When I became a full-time staff member at the Visitor Center, I began “pruning” my social media habits. Being the youngest full-time staff member and still having friends and acquaintances in the organization, I had to think twice about clicking the “Like” button on photos of my various friends. In my new role, I couldn't let my old friends or my new superiors think that I approved of the online behavior of the current ambassadors or my other 867 friends on Facebook. Living in the digital age, you need to be aware of your physical reputation as well as your online reputation. Everything you post, like, approve, “retweet,” “re-vine,” or send a private message is visible to the world. At the Visitor Center, I interact with over eighty young adults throughout the week and they all come from different backgrounds. Some of them I'm friends with on social media and others send me requests, and I feel completely comfortable accepting their requests. I feel like my social media displays an adequate representation of myself, but once I enter their world, I am extremely concerned about all the information I discover about my students. While scrolling through my timeline; I can find extremely sad statuses, videos and photos of students who appear to be at wild parties, and posts shared that are disturbing. I constantly struggle with what is normal behavior in college or when I'm in the middle of a paper...and categorizing the information I find about you and your digital footprint. They may also use information you provide to your potential employer, such as your name, address, email address and telephone numbers. These elements could in turn reveal all kinds of information about you. This part of the book reminds you that online reputation could have a significant effect on your life in terms of dating, admissions and employment. Conclusion Overall, the book was extremely informative and I think it should be a part of first year seminars or our first year reading experience. It offers a unique insight into how to manage your online reputation versus someone who has hit rock bottom and how to rebrand it and re-introduce it to the public. I am confident that anyone who reads this book will be able to navigate this digital age and succeed..