Last time, we talked about creating your own academic website. In this post, we'll talk about other options for creating and managing your online academic presence.
Academia.edu. Often called "Facebook for academics," Academia.edu allows you to post a profile that includes your C.V., publications, employment history, and many other features. It can be a nice way to have an online profile for academic colleagues to visit without creating awkward overlap between work and personal life (your hiring committee doesn't want or need to see those pictures of your last birthday party). You can get an account for free.
LinkedIn. Touting itself as the "World's Largest Professional Network," LinkedIn allows you to post many of the same elements as Academia.edu or Facebook: profile, picture, employment history, interests, skills, etc. 150+million members use LinkedIn, so having a profile could be a way for employers or colleagues to find you. You can get an account for free.
Facebook. If you really just want to use Facebook -- and really, in today's world, who doesn't use Facebook? -- make sure that your security and privacy settings are customized. Facebook has many options that will allow you to secure your profile and keep a professional online presence, such as options to create separate "lists" of friends with customized visibility settings (e.g., who can see your posts, photos, etc.). When you add professional contacts, keep them in their own list so that you can easily control what they are able to see. Like we said earlier: only your friends IRL need to see those party pics.
Twitter. If you're really into social media (or your field is quite technology-heavy, such as digital humanities), you might consider starting a Twitter account. If you're doing this for academic reasons, make sure that you have a professional @username: potential employers might not consider @funkycupcake* a scholarly persona. Keep your professional and your personal Twitter feeds separate, and as always, use discretion and common sense. The Chronicle of Higher Education has some stories about ill-judged or poorly-voiced tweets having disastrous effects on job searches.
*We apologize if that's a real username. We're sure you're really a nice person.
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