I'm Not a Detective, I Just Play One on the Internet: Digital Tattoos

I am my friend group's certified creeper - the friend people text when they are suspicious of the new guy they're dating, sense something is off about a new hire at work, or just need help choosing a new doctor or yoga place. I'm really, really good at tracking information down on the internet. It makes sense: I have been using the internet extensively for over 20 years. I've been on social media since Facebook started. And I've worked behind-the-scenes, on the technical side as the product manager for social and consumer applications and on the data side as a marketer. I know how to use the tools, and my polished librarian search skills help me to narrow and expand my search criteria to find what I'm looking for. 

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It's no secret (and shouldn't be a surprise) that the internet has changed the way we approach privacy and permanence. Many of us are routinely humbled by Facebook's "On This Day" feature, reminding us of the silly posts we made in the springtime of our digital lives. It's unfortunately all too often that our friends share warnings that they have been 'hacked' and that people fall victim to fraud and data leaks, and learning to both understand and protect our privacy online is more important than ever.

Knowledge is Power

Building skills for digital citizenship is serious business, but there's no need to panic. Our digital identities are a hybrid of information we share (our 'digital tattoos'), information people share about us, and publicly accessible information that is published by other entities. While we can't control what others share and publish, we can make careful decisions about our own actions.

As a former social media insider and current part-time marketer, there are two golden rules I always share in conversations about digital identity and the use of online platforms ranging from social media to email to blogging.

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GOLDEN RULE 1: If a service is free to use, your data is likely the product they sell. Usually in conversation I say "if it's free and it requires you to sign up, then you are the product". This sounds scary, but it's a super basic, boiled down way to explain how companies like Facebook, Snapchat, and TikTok make money. Social media companies largely monetize their services through targeted advertisements - and that targeting is enabled by the data you share. You have probably noticed that you see ads on Facebook that are similar to something you searched on Google. This is not an accident. Your data, which comes from things you post, things you like, people you are connected to, terms you search, links you click, and so on, is compiled, sorted, and used to categorize you as a consumer, voter, and so on, and advertisers pay to serve ads to you based on that criteria. So while there is no fee to use many online services like Facebook, LinkedIn, Google, and Yahoo, you are providing the companies with a valuable resource that they use to make money. This is something incredibly important for educators and librarians to understand when recommending or implementing any digital tool in their classrooms - it is an ethical and practical consideration.

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GOLDEN RULE 2: Assume permanent loss of privacy and control when you post online. This feels extreme, right?  The word assume is the operative part of this rule. Internet privacy and content ownership is not black and white - in fact, there are many ways in which copyright can come into play when you are creating digital content - but when it comes to digital identity it is best to start with the most conservative assumption and then look for evidence that contradicts it rather than the other way around. Those pesky terms and conditions that you agree to when you create an account is where you can find the most information about ownership of your posts and other data you create (or that is created about you) when you use any digital service and tool, including your browser. Terms and conditions are dense and complex, and many of us skip reading them, but they outline the 'cost' of using the service. This is a common source of confusion and angst that you see on Facebook, with the perennial copy-paste sharing of faux-legalese "banning" Mark Zuckerberg from having any say in your use of the site. Just like I discussed with Golden Rule 1, there is a trade-off and in many cases, the use of a service overrides or mitigates your ownership rights to the content you share. We need to understand this as digital citizens and help those we serve understand it as well.

Keep Calm and Stay on the Grid

I'll say it again- don't panic! While there are costs associated with using internet services, you can practice good digital hygiene. For many of us, it would be stranger to not have a digital trail. Imagine applying for a job as a digital pedagogy librarian and being essentially non-existent on the internet outside of publicly available information. On one hand, I would look like a data privacy queen, but on the other, it would contradict many of the things I value, not least the creation of knowledge for public access. There are several resources that can help you be a better digital citizen and guide you through helping your patrons and students, as well:

• The Common Sense Media curriculum guide for K-12 settings
• A wide range of resources for higher education, including curriculum and lesson plans, compiled by ACRL
• This synopsis from the University of Michigan
  

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We can also use our own digital footprints or tattoos as learning and teaching tools. To demonstrate this, I have used several tools to 'data mine' my own digital identity - putting my certified creeper status to good use below.

The Not-So-Secret Life of Liz Grauel 

The Semi-Controllable: Google

Any good internet sleuth knows where to start: Google. I searched both my full name, "Elizabeth Grauel", and my more common name, "Liz Grauel". What I found didn't surprise me: my LinkedIn page is the top hit for both search terms, and my social media profiles are pretty high up the list. There are a few differences between Elizabeth and Liz, though. My full name turns up more public record information and my published scholarly work. This makes sense, since it's both my legal name and the name under which I publish. My common name, Liz, returns more of my professional work, like content I've written for clients and companies I work for and news articles in which I was interviewed or listed as the press contact. This very simple Google search gives a ton of information:

• Where I live 
• Where I work
• Who my relatives are 
• What I've been reading 
• What I've written
• Who I married, when, and what we received as gifts (thanks to The Knot and my wedding registry)

In some aspects I can control what comes up in a Google search. I can make my social media accounts private and set them to be unindexed in search results, for example. I cannot, however, control what public records exist, places I've been mentioned or named, and the posts of other organizations.

The Fully Controllable: Social Media

The next places I looked are Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram and Twitter. A pro-creeper knows that you have to log in to these sites to do a good search. My own Facebook is set to be hidden from internet search results, so while you may find links to posts I made on public pages, you will not locate my Facebook profile through a Google search. What you can see about me depends on the service and whether we are 'friends'. 

My 'Exposed Tattoos':

• The basics: my name, where I live, everywhere I've worked, everywhere I've gone to school, and my publications
• The more personal: what I look like, organizations I've joined, causes I support, photos of my spouse and pets
• The more professional: my blog, blogs I've written for other organizations, and PLN information

My 'Friend Tattoos':

• All of the above, plus:
• Places I've travelled
• Social and political opinions and activism
• Books, films, and activities I like
• My love and care for my partner, pets, family, and friends

I have a huge amount of control over what you can learn about me on social media. I can choose to post or not, set posts to private, limited, or public audiences, and decided to not use a service at all.

The Hybrid: People Search Services

When you search names on Google you'll often see links for sites that offer 'reports' about a person. I would never advise trusting or paying for information from these sites, but they do offer even more data that constructs digital identities. I checked out a couple and through them was able to see my current and past addresses, date of birth, names of siblings and parents, and death records for my mom and sister. There was also a ton of inaccurate information (more than one had my birthdate wrong but other details correct, and one listed the address of an old boyfriend as my current address). For the most part, information here came from public records that I cannot control, but there were also details that came from my social media usage.

The Takeaways

There is a ton of information about me online, and with minimal effort anyone who wants to could construct a basic shape of my identity. With a little more energy, they could use what they found to look up my family members and find out even more. What I found wasn't surprising to me because of my background, but it may be shocking to others - and I have all the context. 

Spend five minutes looking me up - how would you describe me?