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DESIGN OF ONLINE IDENTITY
Bree Mansell
Positioning statement
I want my online persona to reflect a
communications professional, a creative
individual interested in the arts and global issues
and someone who has a zest for life. My key
publics are family and friends, prospective
employers, acquaintances, those interested in the
arts and issues affecting their immediate and
global community. I want to write, share and
engage with others who have similar interests to
me and potentially look to me to offered insight
or a different perspective. My online handle is
Breeslalaland. This originates from my time spent
working in the arts in Los Angeles, also known as
‘LA LA LAND’. I have used this nickname for my
twitter & blog platforms.
Image courtesy of ExactTarget.com
Value Proposition
Whilst working in communications doesn’t
make me unique, my knowledge in the film,
the Melbourne arts scene and global issues
offers sensitive and fresh perspectives in my
online persona. I hope to learn from these
online experiences and apply them in my
professional and personal life.
Brand story/experience
My story is honest, multi-faceted and fluid.
All the platforms I utilise demonstrate the
professional and personal aspects of my
online personality all at different degrees. My
twitter profile outlines my passion for the
arts and learning whilst being friendly and
casual; “Work in arts & entertainment
publicity. A lover of a rollerblading and
wine... Preferably not at the same time.”
Tweeting about the arts and politics is a
strategy I use to demonstrate my interest
and activate thinking and encourage
engagement in a non-threatening way. By
following those with similar interests on
Twitter and LinkedIn I open myself up to
greater opportunity of discussion and
learning. Instagram and Facebook enable me
to demonstrate my creativity in the online
world. My blog provides a base for my
freethinking.
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3. I have decided to develop and highlight three personality traits for my ID Project. They are: Causes/Interests, Positivity/Fun
Loving nature and a professional Communicator. These all came to me quite naturally once looking at my current use of social
technologies and what aspects of my personality I was keen to push and explore.
Causes and Interests contribute to a large portion of my personality. This characteristic enables me to engage with my publics
and create discussion. Whether it’s the government’s handling of asylum seekers or a film that impressed me, I enjoy sharing my
opinions with others and seeing what they think about it too. Twitter and Instagram have been the most successful methods in
demonstrating this aspect of my personality. Twitter deals with the political content of my interests and Instagram enables me
to be creative and share positive aspects of my life. Quite often after I have tweeted I have received an influx of followers who
share an interest in the topic too.
Positivity is one of the key elements of my personality that I try to push in real life and online. I don’t tend to be negative as I
fear I would bog down people’s newsfeed or timeline with my rants and they might consider become less engaged with me. If I
die tomorrow, I want people to know that I was a happy person who always had the attitude of glass half full.
I have been exploring the course theory as a Professional Communicator through my blog and tweets. I have now explored this
part of my identity without focusing on course-specific content.
Traditionally I share my personal characteristics on my facebook as I know who I am sharing the information with. During this
activity, Twitter and Wordpress have allowed me to break down the wall between the ‘professional’ and ‘personal’ aspects of
myself and enabled me to present a more holistic view of myself. This has been exciting and rewarding. Linkedin will remain
completely professional and Facebook will remain completely personal.
