Sam Salileng
12/17/13
Online Assignment 4&5
A HUGE blast from the past
My initial reaction from analyzing my Facebook archive is
that I want to travel back in time, meet myself during my late middle school
and early high school years, and then punch myself in the face. After accepting
the embarrassment that my archived information had provided me, I came to the realization
that my digital footprint is not as clean or professional as I would like it to
be. My personal Facebook during the period from 2008-2010 is littered with
unprofessional, inappropriate and pointless statuses. I thought myself to be
more mature and literate during my early teenage years and apparently that was
not the case. It’s amazing how Facebook can tell my story and reflect the
natural maturation process of myself as a person. It’s also amazing how smart
advertisers on Facebook are in determining what kind of person I am. All of the
ads that I have seen directly relate to the way I interact or have interacted
with Facebook in the past.
I did enjoy going back through all of my pictures and
reliving each memory snapped in each photograph. Reminiscing about each message
and wall post did provide a great study break as well. My interests have also
generally remained the same as I can confidently say I do still enjoy the
things that I’ve “liked” in the past. While these aspects of Facebook are
great for the sake of nostalgia and hilarity, they do not bode well for my
digital image towards potential employers in the future.
Since I’ve set up a Google+ account in the past, it didn’t surprise
me that Google already knew I was a male aged 18-24. It’s peculiar that Google
did not know my main language was English, however, and this leads to the next
aspect of the analyzed information which was “Interests.” My interests were all
over the place and more times than not, Google swung and missed. Google
believed I was interested in things such as “Hair Care, Make-Up &
Cosmetics, Hygiene & Toiletries, Celebrities & Entertainment News,” and
my personal favorite: “East Asian Music.” As a business major, it was expected
that some of my interests included “Banking, Credit & Lending, Finance and
Marketing.” These results were not what I expected, and I was very surprised
when I saw the results under interest. Looking back it, I’m happy Google couldn’t
determine who I actually am.
After going through these results, I do not believe that I will change the way I communicate online. I have already shifted my attitude towards social media and I’m much more careful about my privacy settings and what I say and do on the web. For many people, however, these results most likely coincided with who they are and who they think they are. Life in a digital society has given companies the ability to profit from simple things such as “likes” on Facebook and allow them to cater their ads to specific people since they sometimes have access to personal information. With organizations such as the NSA being able to monitor online traffic and “spy” on you, you always have to wonder who exactly has access to your information and digital footprint. One thing is certain though. Whoever has access to mine will have the greatest time in the world following my journey in life through the eyes of the Internet.
Finally, unrelated to this assignment, I attach this video. We had to practice embedding videos onto our posts early in the year and since we've never got a chance to actually do that, I'm utilizing all of my talent through this last assignment.
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