Online identity gcep585-j heine2013 final

JENNIFER HEINE, MA

GCEP/TRMA 585: Developing A Professional Online Identity Spring 2013

ONLINE IDENTITIES, PERSONAL BRANDING, SOCIAL MEDIA

LINKEDIN

Are YOU LinkedIn? Before the online identity class I

was listed on LinkedIn. But now I am LINKED with more people, contact information, and added

details about my experience/ background – anyone hiring?

www.linkedin.com/in/jenniferheinemft•Helps you connect and network with other professionals•Add information about work, education, specialties, build your brand, resume and reputation•Customize – Connect, andBuild Your Network - Find a job!

www.workforce.com

ONLINE PRIVACY

All of my defense went up when discussing my online presence, because that meant exposure! Staying vigilant about what you share, with whom, and what for is crucial for your brand as well as your safety. Learn what companies know about you, and what they do with your information! Even the deceivingly simple websites like Pinterest, gather your information.

Check out this analogy about what Pinterest, is doing with your personal information! http://digitalanalytics101.com/2012/02/why-your-online-privacy-is-important-an-offline-analogy/

It’s a small world – after all!Remember: it is YOUR

responsibility to read the fine print and guard

your information!www.hostingreviews.com

TWITTER #GCEP585

What is Twitter? Micro-blogging!Information squeezed into 140-characters or less = TWEETS!It’s like little bursts of information from who you “ follow” – read more by following others, or simply skim the headlines.

Plenty of quick information!Twitter opened my eyes to more about the different

possibilities for using this networkFind me at:

www.pcworld.com 

https://twitter.com/TherapistJenn

Everything you want to know about Twitterhttp://mashable.com/guidebook/twitter/

PROFESSIONAL FACEBOOK PAGES

Facebook is the Largest Social Networking SiteBusinesses use Facebook to promote just about everything! Social commerce is a multimillion dollar business – just “ like” and “share.” The ethical dilemmas conversations continue for Counselors/Therapists utilizing FB for clientele. I am on facebook as my personal page, and have self-advertised personal counseling as self-care in posts. I am undecided on whether to move forward with professional Facebook page.Find me at: https://www.facebook.com/JenniferHeine.MFT.LPC?ref=tn_tnmnSmart business strategies use•Photos and engaging conversation •Appealing and open atmosphere •Comments, questions, and welcome feedback•Network with other social media sites

NEW Facebook application for professional networkinghttp://branchout.com/

decisiveminds.com 

www.ecreativeim.com

GOOGLE PLUS (G+)

I chose no t to sign up with Gplus, as I have too many sites to manage and information overload! Gplus is an upgraded-hybrid version of MySpace, Facebook and a little Youtube all combined to bring users an exciting way to engage with people. Here are some cool features:•“Hang out” using video chats with family, friends, or even celebrities, and world leaders in a more interactive way. This was the week we watched President Obama’s Fireside Chat where he spoke directly to several families and individuals all across America.•Gaming, messaging and ways to manage your family, friends and other groups with “Circles”

Sign up here to see the latest and greatest happening on Google+ every week: http://goo.gl/DzsgV

www.w3resource.com

BLOGS: BLOGGER, WORDPRESS, TUMBLR

To Blog, or not to blog … that is the question for Mental Health Therapists. Wordpress is the largest blogging tool, and free! Tumblr on the other hand is criticized heavily for reblogging w/o obtaining permission, as well as adult graphic media, image porn. Many people find blogging fun, therapeutic, and useful in order to promote their reputation, their business – even generate income. It has pluses and minuses – the biggest for me is the time commitment, along with always knowing what to say and to what audience. It feels daunting right now, but after graduation, maybe! Therapists publishing must be mindful of:•Privacy & Ethical issues •Be mindful of your audience { present, and future!}•Reach out to your followers, build your brand and reputation Psych Central list of Mental Health Blogs www.gabrielweinberg.com http://psychcentral.com/resources/Mental_Health/Blogs/

LEARNING FROM MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONALS & ORGANIZATIONS

We have had the GREAT opportunity of learning from other professionals and organizations. Following in successful footsteps has been a wonderful way to

learn, – my favorite is Julie Hanks!•She is an outstanding example for successful Mental Health Online by

reaching out to countless people through all the various social networking sites. She regularly contributes to Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn, etc. Below is a link to a very helpful article she wrote regarding 8 Real World

Marketing Strategies From Successful Therapists:http://blogs.psychcentral.com/private-practice/2011/10/8-real-world-marketing-strategies-from-successful-therapists/

MANAGING YOUR ONLINE IDENTITY

With all of the online social media sites, managing your online identity and processing of information can feel overwhelming!

Hootsuite and Tweetdeck are two social media dashboards which manage your social media

•Julie Hanks media management experts utilizes employees to help manage her accounts, that is doable!   •My favorite benefit are the interest alerts set to individual specifications, mine is set to “Play Therapy.”

dev.twitter.com play.google.com 

PORTFOLIOS & PROFILES

http://about.me/jennifer_heine

About.me is a very easy,fun, and user-friendly way to shareInformationabout yourself.

•I recommend it for those of us who are more creative than technical!

CURATION TOOLS: SCOOP.IT/PINTERESTSOCIAL MEDIA ETHICS FOR THERAPISTS

Similar to museum curators are o nline curators, who “scoop,” “bookmark,” or “pin” items of interest from all over the internet for other viewers. You can follow items, or people of interest on just about any topic. Find something that interests you? Pin it, Scoop.it, or Bookmark it!Look for the small icon, click, and it goes right onto your page. Common curation sites are Pinterest, Scoop.it, Diigo and Delicious.  

Find ME at: http://pinterest.com/jheine10/Search my 12 pins for “Ethics & Social Media for Therapists”

sparkloftmedia.com  www.llas.ac.uk

WEBSITES & DOMAIN NAMES

Being connected is important for the success of your business, buying a Domain name secures your personal brand name for online identification. A few ways familiar Websites and Domains:•Wix.com•Wordpress.org•Squarespace•GoDaddy

Guru Julie Hanks offered 6 reasons she loves Wordpress.org1) Personal touch (you can be the webmaster), 2) Free themes, 3) Plugins and widgets, 4) Ease of use and navigation, 5) Inexpensive , and 6) Integrated blog right on her website

phys.org

wrightstuffmusic.com cloudtimes.org 

MAKING A DIFFERENCE GOALS & STRATEGIES

There are many ways to reach out and make a difference, big or small. Set your goal, make strategies, and go for it! A few things to keep in mind:•Instantaneous transmission of information creates even higher levels of obligation to validate content because of the vast amount many people counting on it.  •This became evident in the seconds following the Boston bombing, noting the tragedy and triumph highlighted the impact of youtube and other social media sites and the importance of maintaining set goals of impact.  •As mental health clinicians, spreading information, and hope during times of high stress become paramount.  Having carefully created an online voice and presence allows people to turn to us in times of fear and questioning.  It's a huge honor, and responsibility!

SLIDESHARE

Slideshare, my first thoughts … Why haven’ t all of our Masters Classes used it as we post, present, and share our work?!Love the professionalsharing of power-point slide shows!Make public, orprivate. Great foronline-learning or for making yourwork available to your clientele http://www.slideshare.net/jenniferheine

as an online material reference.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Professional Online Development Class was fun, and ve ry educational. •This course pushed me WAY beyond my comfort zone, away from the ease of face-to-face contact toward the technical end, strategic end of successful business presence online. •I have been able to connect with class mates, other professionals, build my pages up in LinkedIn, Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, About.me, and I am considering expanding my voice further with blogs, and other social media outlets. Wow.•Because this was out of my “ league” – I am grateful for Robin’s patience, and doable assignments leading us into the online world of social media!•Of all the learning, I will continue to check for new tweets, network for jobs with LinkedIn, stay connected with Facebook, continue to expand my Pinterest account beyond DIY projects, and most likely use Slideshare with my clientele for them to reference topics and subject matter.