How are we perceived on the Internet and New Media?

(Shontell, 2011)

We put ourselves out on internet, for the world to see, on a daily basis. We have Facebook pages, twitter accounts, blogs and various other social media platforms which we use to express ourselves. 

However, is how we want to be perceived, actually how we are being perceived?  While I can’t answer how others see me, I can try to control how people perceive my online persona.

I would like to think that I come across much the same on the internet as I do in real life. My internet persona is very much an extension of myself; however, it isn’t all that I am. 

In this week’s readings, Deuze argues that our lives are lived in, rather than with, media and that we are living a media life (Deuze, 2011, p. 138).  I disagree, while some may be immersed in their ‘media lives’, most of us are able to differentiate between fiction and reality.

While we try to brand and create identities for ourselves on the internet, it is important to create a consistent persona across all forms of media. As Susan Leong said in her Week 5 Lecture, we have to question how we are perceived globally. To create a unified online presence you have be:

•      Consistent across all new media platforms

•      Consistent across all cultures

•      Consistent across all facets of life   (Leong, 2011)

---------------------------------------------------------------------

• Deuze, M. 2011. Media Life. In Media, Culture & Society, Volume 33, issue 1, pp. 137-148.
• Leong, Susan. 2011. KCB206 New Media: Internet, Self & Beyond: Week 4 Lecture Notes. Accessed March 28, 2011. http://blackboard.qut.edu.au
• Schontell, A. 2011. If You Look Like This, Your Pay Check Will Be Higher Than Average. In, Business Insider. Image. Accessed April 1^st, 2011. http://www.businessinsider.com/if-you-have-any-of-these-20-physical-features-your-pay-check-will-probably-be-higher-2011-2