Revamping my Internet Identity and Where to Start

Is your current online presence helping or hurting you?

Recently, I attended my 10 year high school reunion. My dear friend Lauren Carr decided it to submit a number of old photos of us for the slideshow, which was shown throughout the entire reunion…greatly jeopardizing her title as “dear friend”. As I watched myself fade in and out on screen over and over again, I was slightly mortified at the different identities I had while in high school: Awkward with stringy bangs and corduroy overalls phase, I love underground hip hop (that was a good one) phase, and of course my NSYNC IS AWESOME!!! phase. At LexBlog, we are constantly asking our clients what their online presence says about them. And suddenly, when I asked myself that same question I wasn’t quite sure what my answer was. Would it portray who I am today or who I was 10 years ago?

I have enough self awareness to know I’ve done little to cultivate my own Internet presence. Sure, I have a LinkedIn profile and I’ve been on Twitter for almost a year. On Twitter I follow 68 people and 42 people follow me (half of those are co-workers). I’ve tweeted 12 times. That’s counting the time I accidentally retweeted a post titled “Take Control of How You Age”, which was a bit awkward and coined the term “pocket tweeting.”  It also led to two new followers both in the anti-wrinkle industry, and yes, I did include them in my 42.  But, just to be safe, I did what everyone does when they feel a bit self conscious: I googled myself. Here are my first three results:

1. My Linkedin Profile (which is incomplete, and says little about what I’ve been doing with myself these past 10 years.)

2. A twitter profile for a different Jenna Tomko (who’s tweets read like something out of 50 Shades of Grey)

3. My Facebook page (which is kept private)

Great. My Internet identity says I’m pretty boring, except for when I decide to post raunchy updates to my twitter stream. But, let’s take a glass half full approach: aside from causing me a fair amount of embarrassment, Google has also prioritized my focus as I begin revamp my online identity:

1. LinkedIn: Update my LinkedIn Profile in a way that engages and also represents my accomplishments, and what I do today. There are countless resources online to help get started, but of course I defer to my colleague Helen Pitlick on our Client Services team, and her post: 10 easy ways to improve your LinkedIn profile.

2. Twitter: First, let the other Jenna Tomko on Twitter know that she is ruining my life. Second, set up a password for my phone to avoid any future pocket tweeting. And of course, begin to participate and share more content via Twitter. It’s a chance for me to not only share knowledge, but also show people what interests me outside of work. Prepare for posts on business development, mixed in with bridezilla moments, and pictures of my dogs. Lindsay Griffiths, Marketing & Business Development executive and author of Zen & The Art of Legal Networking, has a five part post all about getting started on Twitter, and then using it as a business development tool. Check out the first installment and then be ready to delve into the next four: Twitter: Effectively Leveraging Twitter as a Business Development and Marketing Tool – Part I.

3. Facebook: We all need guilty pleasures. For me it’s reality television, white russians, and Facebook….usually all at once. For now Facebook remains my private space among 452 friends and 650 tagged photos. I like keeping it separate from my professional life, and for now, I intend to keep it that way.

I google people all the time before I meet with them, and I’m sure they do the same to me. It is so important for every professional to have a handle on their Internet identity. But for young professionals it’s even more crucial. After all, the Internet has followed us through our most formidable years. I’ll share my own progress intermittently throughout this blog: what worked, what didn’t, how I embarrassed myself, and how I picked myself up. I’d love to hear your feedback and comments along the way.