Task 1b: Professional Communication Technologies.

An Online Personality

Diving into the world of Web 2.0 was eye-opening in many ways, mainly in the sense that this concept is such an active part of our society and I realised I knew very little about it.  In all honesty, it’s not really something I had ever given a lot of thought to; it’s just ‘there’. Studying the Reader lead onto lots of further research into certain topics that particularly stood out for me.  I was overwhelmed with the amount of information available and I read many other articles and interviews, one of which I have previously blogged about here. I began to brainstorm ideas and produced a very messy mind map as a result!  

Web 2.0 is undeniably a huge part of today’s society, so how can it be used within professional practice? One word that came to mind: Networking. There are a number of ways to contact other professionals and to send them a copy of your C.V., email, phone, etc., but there are now ways to connect with other professionals who could potentially develop your career or experience - websites such as LinkedIn.  I then felt a twinge of guilt as it was apparent from my lack of a LinkedIn account that this was something I hadn't really considered before. So, I now have a LinkedIn account and have connections to people who are involved in my industry. I was also surprised at the flexibility I had in creating my own profile page - I was able to add videos of performance projects as well as follow the Education Group and support my work as a Teaching Assistant. I feel like the page gives people a very accurate account of my professional history in the fields of performing arts and education. It is not restricted to representing itself to one particular job role; it’s an active, up to date reflection on my professional experience in all aspects. As I mentioned in the first task, I have two different C.V.’s so it was a welcome change to combine everything as an online professional profile.   

I found it particularly useful to talk to my partner about this as he has used LinkedIn for his career for a while.  I began to talk about the idea of an online personality and we discussed the aesthetics of LinkedIn and how clean it looked, giving a very professional appearance. It forced me to re-evaluate my the design of my Blog.  It was a very bright purple with a busy background. Did it look particularly professional? Or was it just a background that I liked the colour of? I hadn't given much thought to what it would look like to others as part of a professional personality. So, I decided to opt for a more neutral colour scheme. I feel like this choice portrays a more professional, and less personal, online personality - something I now realise is important to me and my development. 

There are many other aspects of Web 2.0 that have evolved not just our professional lives but our online social lives too.  The numbers of people on Facebook is staggering, considering it started as a college website.  So what is it about Facebook that is so appealing? Why does it draw almost a billion users each day?

Mark Zuckerburg said on the subject: 

“The question isn’t what do we want to know about people? It’s ‘what do people want to tell about themselves?’”1

Thinking about why I use Facebook, I can see that this quote really sums up one of the reasons this site is so popular.  People love to tell stories, myself included, and Facebook provides a space to do this. We can share events, pictures and interests and in return we can view this from others. It provides a platform for a wealth of opinions and enriching information. Facebook encourages us to actively participate, and is one of the many Web2.0 sites that is made better by its users.  

Another valuable aspect of Web 2.0 is just how cost effective it is. It encourages users to participate by being easy and free. This is also supported by the use of technology and its rapid development.  It is incredibly easy to access and will even send notifications directly to my phone.  I don’t even have to remember to check it! This supports a very inclusive community feel to Web 2.0 meaning that more people from all walks of life are now sharing experiences and opinions. I found this incredibly useful when I was working away, as staying in touch with family was made much simpler.  If I want to share an experience with a picture I just have to load it once and then everyone can see it.  I have also used this in a professional sense as I have loaded show videos when I was working away. Again, this is all part of creating a professional online personality.    

Web 2.0 can also have some negative effects and I feel it is important to be aware of the things that could potentially go wrong. Web 2.0 should be approached with caution and careful thinking.  A discussion arose in my place of work between the teachers and other staff when our Head Teacher reminded us that it is against the school policy to state on any social sites the name of the school at which we work. This is for many reasons but includes safe guarding the children in our care. This is a particularly sensitive area and mistakes could cause harm both professionally and personally. Whilst Web 2.0 has a wide range of benefits to our education and social life, I believe it really does need to be treated with caution.  Just like anything used in the work place, risk assessment is paramount and now most places of work have a social media policy stating their rules.

I feel like I should also be careful not to take it all for granted. Web 2.0 provides a feeling of instant gratification, and then frustration when it takes more than a few minutes to find our answer. There is so much information to be accessed and now I just expect to find an answer to a question immediately and with little effort. For example, when I worked on a cruise ship for the first time, I learned that the internet onboard was very slow - comparable perhaps to the internet speeds we were all used to 10 years ago. It took me some time to readjust my expectations and get used to the fact that I couldn't find the answer to a question instantly - the internet was no longer a tool of instant gratification to me.

Web 2.0 is a huge driving force in today's world. It is powerful and empowering, giving more freedom of knowledge and learning to its users. We are actively involved in not just reading and procuring information, but we can now all be involved in producing it. This can give us a unique opportunity to give our own reviews and opinions.  Wikipedia pages can be edited by anyone - there is strong sense of “trusting your users” as said by Tim O’Reilly. The clarification of the term 'Web 2.0' can be understood further by looking at the Meme Map created by Tim O’Reilly^2. However, to me Web 2.0 is a valuable source of information and guidance, and can be actively involved in progressing my professional career. I have to make sure that I allow it to do so by being an active participant. Web 2.0 can be a powerful tool in the professional world but as with most things, I believe you get out of it what you put in.


1: ZUCKERBERG, M. (2011).  Exclusive Interview with Facebook Leadership [Online interview] Available from: http://www.charlierose.com/watch/60001374 [Accessed 12/10/2015]

2: O'REILLY, T. , 2005. O'Reilly. What is Web 2.0 Design Patterns and Business Models for the Next Generation of Software , [online] Available at http://www.oreilly.com/pub/a/web2/archive/what-is-web-20.html [accessed 12/10/15]