As the last year of my college career reaches it’s halfway mark. I find myself looking back on the work I’ve created this semester and how it’s all interconnected. In four years at Champlain I’ve learned a lot, not just in regards to marketing but also about myself. Creating a personal digital identity over the past semester has brought what I have learned at Champlain together with what I’ve learned about myself. As I move forward I hope to continue growing in my last few months at Champlain, so when I finally to enter the workforce I’m the best version of me I can possibly be. I also hope that my PDI will continue to grow with me, so this is by no means a final stopping place for all the work I’ve done this semester. I want it to continue to grow and evolve along with me.
Social media platforms
These are the four social media platforms I worked with this semester while crafting my personal digital identity.
WordPress
My blog is a mix of all those things that I love from a personal standpoint as well as a professional one. I wanted my blog to be a spot where I can discuss topics that I care about. For example I wrote a lot about comedy, which is something I’m very passionate about. As the line between personal life and professional life becomes thinner I also wanted my blog to be a place that potential employers and colleagues could come to find out more about my work. Moving ahead I hope to take advantage of my WordPress and all of its features even more.
As you can see this statistic shows the number of views my blog has received since starting in September. I’ve had a steady number of viewers/ visitors to my blog since the beginning. My best ever number of views is nine, which came in the middle of October. Over the entire semester I’ve had 69 visitors to my blog and one comment. I hope once I start to share my blog on Facebook and Twitter I will attract more readers. I also am going to start posting interviews I do with people I find influential. Hopefully this will garner visitors and commenters to my blog.
LinkedIn was one of the harder platforms for me to get comfortable with. I created one back during freshman year though I hardly ever used it. I finally built a real LinkedIn profile this semester, so I was starting from scratch. I’m very happy with the progress I made over the course of the semester. I gained 137 good connections, as well as creating an online resume for potential employers to view. One issue I’ve had with LinkedIn is getting people to endorse me. I have a lot of skills that can be tapped at whatever company I end up working for.
While LinkedIn may say I’m an All-Star I think my profile needs a bit more work before it’s even playing in the majors. I will get there before the end of this year. One thing I also need to work on is upping my profile views so that more potential employers could see my LinkedIn. Once again you can see a peak in the middle of October when I was most active during the semester.
I was never a fan of twitter. The only reason I ever joined it was because I was forced to freshman year in Exploring Marketing with Elaine. Throughout my college career I’ve always followed many different marketing professionals in the industry. I’ve participated in many different tweet chats with them. It’s here I learn to engage one-on-one with colleagues. This semester I’ve been using twitter a lot more than I did freshman year. The added benefit of being able to schedule tweets has helped me become a more active Tweeter as I can set them in advance.
I’ve seen a healthy rise and followers as well as a rise in the number of people who are favoring my tweets. Including a former Jimmy Kimmel writer.
G+
I use Google + a very interesting way. Most people I know use it as a stepping stone to promote their own content. I use it to find new content for my blog. I have a number of circles featuring major news sites as well as circles pertaining to many of my different interests.
This has led me to have a huge number of people in my circles as well as a very small following. I attribute the 373 people I’m following to the reason that my page view has 3,269. This is been very helpful in my PDI because I can go to my circles to find stories that I then share on my blog. Since each of my platforms is connected it allows for sharing each to be seamless. The number one goal I have set for next semester is to improve the number of people that have me in my in their circles. This would show me that I am starting to influence more people.
Metics
For metrics I used Klout to measure how I’m doing. I’ve been using Klout since freshman year and am very comfortable with the system. Since mid-October as with many of my platforms I seen a steady rise in my Klout score. I attribute this to the fact that I am more active on twitter and other platforms. Well it seems for now my Klout score has plateaued at around 55. My hope for next semester is that I will be able to beat Elaine’s Klout score which I came close to doing. I also look forward to engaging with more of my followers.
SEO
Having a very unique name I was lucky enough to find that when you Google Jake Keohan. I am the only one that comes up. The top fold of Google’s search page features images I had taken during one of my internships. As well as my Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and About.me. Which are all prominently featured as well as each being linked to one another. If you then scroll down a bit you will see that the 5th and 6th search results are my Klout and WordPress. Well it is a little disheartening that my blog falls below the fold I take comfort in knowing that it is still within the top 10 search results for my name. Then again the 10th and final search result on the first page of Google is the Syracuse women’s lacrosse team, which I have never been involved with. I hope one day that the whole first page of Google is filled with just Jake Keohan.
In closing
I would just like to say that my PDI is just the way I want to be at this point. It like me is going to constantly evolve throughout my career adapting to every new situation that comes my way. I’m excited to know that next semester and even next year hold a great new adventure for me, which you’ll be able to follow right here. I have also seen what needs to be done to improve my PDI and what types of steps I have to take to accomplish my new goals. No matter what happens and what setbacks may come, I will always be there to face them head-on with a smile and a wink. I believe that in a world full of people asking Why. It’s important to surround yourself with people who ask Why not. This is something I do that sets me apart from the competition. I am always ready to take on new challenges.
Broad Strokes with Jake 
