Mapping My Digital Space

 

Mapping Your Digital Space

          Image Source: DigitalSpace.com

As as self described reluctant technology user (see my previous post), if I am to be honest about my activities online, I would indeed break it into the four categories which are personal, professional, visitors, and resident. Our digital activities are much like our physical ones. How would we categorize our presence in our homes, churches, stores, libraries, gym, the movie theater, the bar or even the park where we take walks and strolls on beautiful days.

Still, I was a little confused about the meaning of “resident” versus “visitor”. The V&R model aims at understanding “understanding how people use the web, and the differences between their approaches to online engagement”. A visitor merely uses the internet “as a series of tools and a pool of information” while a resident “expresses him or herself and leaves a proof of his/her visit”.

Image Source:Indus Community

The distinction between visitor and resident digital activities must also be accompanied by the one between personal and professional digital activities. This is because we have both public and private lifes in which we conduct different activities. Our digital habits reflect just that. 

Image Source: OneGoodCard.com

Personal digital activities include sharing content within a selected group of trusted friends while professional digital activities include sharing contents with the intention of communicating services, products, and promotion to the public. The distinction is real and when it comes to social media as the saying goes “Keep it professional or keep it private” in order to avoid unintended consequences.

Source Image: Tulsa Business Accelarator

As educators striving to teach our students how to use technology more intentionally, we will do well to teach them how to make a distinction between personal and professional posts and of the permanent nature of their posts. As students grow older, digital tattoos  or “the unique trail of data that a person or business creates while using the internet” can have a negative impact on job search, relationships as well as a whole host of unintended consequences.

Source Image: Seminar Philippines

My digital space map is a true reflection of my current situation in life. As an older student returning to study and work, a mother and a part time worker, my digital map is heavy on the personal activities quadrant. There, one can find that I use applications to help shopping for my family, for my health, my spiritual wellbeing, and to sustains relationship with my family and friends. I visit many sites, and do not leave much of a traces except maybe the data the almost unavoidable algorithms collect from our online shopping habits, therefore, the resident quadrant is lighter. I really tend to use the internet as a tool for meeting my daily needs and wants. The exception would be the use of Google Blogger for the purpose of my courses. Professional uses here are confined to email (Outlook) and Canvas for studies as well as Windows suite for work projects.

CONCLUSION

For educators and librarians mapping digital spaces comes in handy when we want to gauge how our users are using the products we offer digitally. This is an important tool for libraries that are seeing a decrease in circulation but an increase in the use of their digital platforms. Understanding the details of whether patrons are accessing materials through, OverDrive or Hoopla for example.

I also see the importance of mapping digital spaces to get a better hold of where our time is spent when we are online to better manage it. Our greatest resource is time and how we spend it matters.

Image Source: Karen S. Publisher