Abstract

Many of our students today come to university with ICT skills that enable them to confidently use information technology; and for those that require development resources and support is available. However it evident that this does not necessarily mean they have the digital literacy skills that we might expect. Whilst they may be frequent visitors or virtual residents (White 2011) on online forums, their presence tends to be engaged in social communication with little regard to the impact on their professional identify. This paper will demonstrate, with reference to data collected at Bournemouth University and Sheffield Hallam University, that the use of social media websites such as Twitter, Facebook, Linked In, My Space, etc, can have a dramatic consequence to an individual’s employment prospects when used inappropriately. Citing examples from published news sources, our students were exposed to real situations where employees have been disciplined for their online behaviour and their reactions were collated. In addition positive examples of how social media tools can be maximised to develop a student’s (or graduate’s) professional online presence will be shared. White, D. S. and le Cornu, A. (2011) Visitors and Residents: A new typology for online engagement, First Monday, Vol 16, No 9. Available online: http://firstmonday.org/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/3171/3049