Online Presence

According to this Chronicle article– http://chronicle.com.ezproxy.lib.vt.edu:8080/article/For-Professors-Online/145961/ –building an online brand is an essential way for a professor who wants to connect with students and when scholars share about their personal lives are rated to having the most credibility.

Is this true in all cases? Even in small towns or small campuses where people know you and your family?

Disclosure about personal things to students is something that I have spent a lot of time thinking about and is a frequent topic of discussion within my department. I agree that students want some idea about who you are outside of the classroom but I don’t think they have to get those ideas from your online presence. By maintaining just a professional voice on your online presence and still disclosing in person would have the same benefits.

All of this technology is great. And we need to be open to the changes that are here and that are coming. But I also think we sometimes should slow down and think about what we are doing from all angles before jumping on the bandwagon.