Digital Portfolio
At the start of the UOSM2008 module I was an avid user of the internet for personal and social motivations, describing myself as a digital resident in Topic 1. However, throughout the development of the module, and after extensive peer learning and interaction, I have learnt how to fully take advantage of the tools the internet has to offer, with the main objective of enhancing my employability.
I have continued my presence on Facebook, both for personal use and for Southampton University’s Basketball Club. After reading many articles shared via the #uosm2008, I have consequently tightened my personal security settings.
My Twitter (@kim_puravida) used to be a place where I would share personal anecdotes of my day with friends, and rant about football. I have since realised that Twitter is one of the best ways to represent yourself and your interests, whilst connecting with professionals; therefore I recognised the need to modify my usage to enhance my employability. I believe I have made a positive change to my content by reducing the number of personal tweets, and instead focusing on specific areas of interest. Through using the hashtags #travel and #socialmedia I have found my number of followers jump to 383, as well as increased visibility of my blog posts. Additionally, I have benefited and learnt from interactions from not only peers, but reaching out to professionals and entrepreneurs throughout the course, for an example see here.
My about.me page was a new venture, and I have ensured to update it where possible, see here. This is a page which I can be proud of and share, as it incorporates all of my online identities, whilst telling my story and giving a little insight into my personality.
The most valuable thing I have gained from the skills developed during this module is, of course, receiving my perfect job offer through LinkedIn, read more here. Thanks to UOSM2008, I started my LinkedIn account, and after many in-depth discussions with my peers, I have since been able to develop an authentic and respectable online professional profile. Starting in February, my connections have grown to 260+, and I have looked to improve the content regularly to enhance my profile, together with a steady growth in endorsements.
Since accepting my job, I now form part of the extremely active Drinks Sector groups, and I created the Chivas Brothers International Graduate Programme members-only group, as a place to discuss and support each other before, during and after training, when we will embark on different adventures across the world. Upon entering the international business environment, I will endeavour to connect and network with colleagues.
The last, and perhaps most central, part of my new and improved Digital Portfolio is of course this blog, which I am definitely going to continue using in the future. Here, I have linked all of my social media pages, and embedded feeds from my twitter page and website. I am in the process of transferring my travel blogs, using hashtags to share, and as a consequence I’m enjoying increased interaction within the travel community. I now have 27 subscribers who receive an email every time I write a new post, which is great!
To conclude, choosing UOSM2008 has proven to be one of the most beneficial decisions I have made throughout my degree, and I have thoroughly enjoyed the experience. In the future I hope to continue developing, taking advantage of, and reaping, the benefits of an enhanced professional online profile. Please see my summary video below:
Word Count: 583
