EME5404: Credibility and Your Online Self

Last week, I ended with the thought that verifying authenticity of web content is the reader's or consumer's responsibility. It's kind of the "caveat emptor" of the web. This week's topic considers that responsibility, and addresses how information consumers can improve their ability to evaluate web resources. Related to that is how we represent ourselves online, because an individual's online presence goes hand-in-hand with his or her credibility. So in addition to evaluating the credibility of resources we consume, we need to build in credibility to the resources we produce by creating and maintaining a reliable and professional online presence.

Although source credibility has traditionally included factors like the speaker's physical appearance and composure, online source credibility boils down to credentials, web presence, and the integrity of the associated web site (Flanagin & Metzger, 2008). In terms of web site integrity, consumers can consider several factors including the sponsoring organization, the currency of the information, and the presence of contact, copyright, and privacy information. For example, when the sponsoring organization is a university or other academic institution, the government, or the military, the information can usually be considered credible.  Likewise, if a website appears to be updated and maintained regularly and lists contacts and policy information, the sites credibility is probably fairly strong (Flanagin & Metzger, 2008; Lankes, 2008; Nortel, 2011). This short (6:05 minutes) video from Nortel describes ways information consumers can evaluate the integrity of online information.

 

 Obviously, the Internet has certainly had a hand in vastly expanding the resources educators and learners have available to them. In my own situation, being able to direct students to resources like an online video or a blog allows me to bring in expert testimony or opposing viewpoints that might otherwise be hard to access. It also gives students the flexibility to locate resources to support their own work and to publish what they then create. In fact, some learners might find they no longer need to be part of an institutionalized learning environment. Certainly, the "open education" movement has brought actual course material from well respected universities, such as Stanford and MIT, right to Joe and Jane Internet's computer screens. Not all open sources are as clearly reliable, however, which makes learning to discern credibility even more important (Flanagin & Metzger, 2008).

Because source credibility is a key factor in identifying authentic and reliable web resources, content creators need to be concerned with how they present themselves online. Therefore, managing your web presence is important to establishing yourself as a reliable source (Lankes, 2008; Nortel, 2011). Lowenthal and Dunlap (2012) recently published an excellent piece on establishing and managing web presence for academic professionals. It is an excellent and quick read, and provides images and short video tutorials to demonstrate some of the principles discussed. You can access the article here: http://www.educause.edu/ero/article/intentional-web-presence-10-seo-strategies-every-academic-needs-know

Academics may wish to follow some of the suggestions in the Lowenthal and Dunlap (2012) article and consider publishing draft materials to a web site, blogging, Tweeting, and engaging in other forms of collaborative web publishing and interactions. As the authors point out, it is essential to leverage all your connections in the best way permissible to help build your own credibility. In addition to building and maintaining a current profile, academics should also consider contributing to peer reviews, critiques, and recommendations of the work of their colleagues. All these activities can affect an individual's online credibility. The more complete an individual's profile and the easier his or her work is to find, the better he or she will look when others find an academic's work (Nortel, 2011).

So while consumers are ultimately responsible for validating the credibility of the sources they visit online, they are also responsible for helping form the credibility of different resources. Consumers can offer their own critiques, reviews, and recommendations of various online resources and contributors. When consumers transition into the producer role, they can make their own case for credibility by providing an accurate representation of their identity, qualifications, and connections in the online world. It's a balancing act where we all have a role to play.

Resources

Flanagin,A., & Metzger, M. (2008). Digital media and youth: Unparalleled opportunity and unprecedented responsibility. In M. Metzger & A. Flanagin (Eds.), Digital media, youth, and credibility: The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation series on digital media and learning (pp. 5-28). Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press. Retrieved from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/dmal.9780262562324.005

Lankes, R. D. (2008). Trusting the Internet: New Approaches to Credibility Tools. In M. Metzger & A. Flanagin (Eds.), Digital media, youth, and credibility: The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation series on digital media and learning (pp. 101-122). Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press. Retrieved from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/dmal.9780262562324.101

Lowenthal, P., & Dunlap, J. (2012, June 6). Intentional web presence: 10 SEO strategies every academic needs to know. EDUCAUSEreview Online. Retrieved from http://www.educause.edu/ero/article/intentional-web-presence-10-seo-strategies-every-academic-needs-know

Nortel (Producer). (2011, April 23). Discovering the internet: Credibility [Web video]. Retrieved from http://youtu.be/WQXPtveRevc