Finally, keep in mind that most of us are not taught to do this in the preparation for our careers. We should be, but we’re not. Most of the people developing and facilitating these educational and career prep programs are trying to figure all of this out for themselves…let alone teach you. We need to develop a domain that we control and put in the same amount of polish that we do our offline identities. Offline, we pick out a certain outfit, shoes, and hairstyle that fits our persona. We have a certain way that we want to be viewed, and select options, or habits that help create that persona. Online, we’re often a mess of half-formed elements and inconsistent information that doesn’t share the “real” version of your digital identity. Think about the version of you that you want to create…and make it happen.

I think we should all have a domain of our own that we control and can edit over time. We should have one space online that we call our own, and is not owned by another corporation, group, or entity. The one, “best” representation of you online should not be your LinkedIN or Facebook page. This should be a space where you can create the identity that you want to have. You can write yourself into existence.