T
he Digital Revolution is creating a world that is profoundly different and will have a greater impact than the Industrial Revolution.
You Posted What!? was written to educate parents, educators, teens and young adults on how to use the Internet and Social Media to gain an advantage for college and future employment.
Also included in the book is a section that discusses the importance of understanding the consequences of inappropriate online behavior.
Four Reasons Why You Should Read You Posted What!?
1) The Digital Divide
There is a growing digital divide between families and students who possess computer and social media skills and individuals who do not have these skills. For the past couple of months, I have been speaking in small Texas communities.
Many students and individuals still do not understand the concept of creating a user name and safe password. Furthermore, most do not know or understand the definitions for the words like coding and algorithm.
For students to build quality social media profiles for college and to secure future employment, they must have access to broadband. For those of us who have always had access to the latest digital technology, it is hard to understand the scope of the problem. However, the problem is real and continues to increase each year.
Knowing how to post a photo to Instagram is different from understanding how to utilize social media and the Internet as a powerful education and career tool.
Which side of the digital divide is your family?
2) The Dark Side of Internet
Our teens are digital pioneer natives. To date their entire life has been digitally documented from the first baby photos to 6th grade graduation. It is natural for teens to document every aspect of their life online, every day.
Growing up in a digital world makes it hard for teens to understand that the Internet is a public forum and privacy is an illusion. Over the weekend, there was news of celebrities having their photos leaked that there saved on the iCloud platform. When I speak to organizations, especially with teens and young adults in the audience I stress to them – the Internet never forgets and nothing is private.
Learning good social media profile management habits is necessary in our digital world. Creating a good unique password for each account and storing key password information offline is a must. I always tell my son, in doubt keep offline.
Why Your Teen’s Digital Profile Matters
You Posted What!? was written in a positive voice. My goal was to share with families’ information about how the Internet can be used for education and employment.
The book provides strategies and recommendations to teens and young adults on how to harness the power of the Internet and use their social media profiles to their advantage.
Our digital profiles are quickly replacing the paper resume. College recruiters and employers use social media networks to learn more about us and to verify our information.
Teens have more opportunity to learn and pursue their career passions than any previous generation. The Internet provides them the world in which they can learn new subjects, use Kickstarter to launch a business or build online connections that will benefit their career. Digital savvy teens understand the benefit of having a quality authentic digital profile.
Companies like Social Assurity help teens, college students and athletes refine their social media profiles and online identities before colleges, talent agents and employers review them online.
Alan Katzman founded Social Assuirty to help the digital generation. Last week during our visit, he said if a student claims to be passionate about a topic in their college cover letter, and the recruiter does not see this passion convey online, the recruiter will pass on the student.
College recruiters and employers do notice disconnected profiles.
3) Educational technology is disrupting education.
Digital teens learn differently, and many of our textbooks and resource materials provided by schools are no longer relevant. In July, I met Jena Draper, who is the co-founder of Navvie[http://www.navvie.com/].
Jena and her team are focused on providing a new educational content management tool that is relevant and can be co-curated with teachers. The platform allows students to learn in their native digital environment.
Students use the Internet for everything and learning is no different. Have a question? Use Google to find the answer. Digital education is a rapidly expanding and changing industry. Each month, new startups are being launched.
I interviewed multiplied founders and investors for the book to provide an overview of how quickly education is changing.
You Posted What!? is an essential guide and resource for all families and educators.