Web Reclaimed? | Reclaiming Digital Identity

Existing Digitally, Audrey Watters

Owning your own domain, having a website – this does not mean that you have to have a “blog.” Not everyone is a writer; not everyone wants to publish in their writing in a reverse chronological order on the Web. I get that. But you should still have your own domain. It can serve as a digital portfolio, showcasing the work you do. It can serve, to a certain extent, as the canonical “you” online. When people search for your name, they find your website – the one you’ve designed, the one you’ve decided what it looks like and what the content holds. They find that “you,” that particular performance of your digital identity. Sure, links to your Facebook profile, your LinkedIn page, your Twitter account, your Instagram account will all show up in the results too. But the top link is your domain.

Your domain. Your space on the Web. A space you can control.

…“To reclaim” means to take back – to take back some of the tools, to take back the vision, to take back our content and data from industries that are exploiting us.

To “reclaim your domain” – that word “domain” can mean many things. “Domain” is a territory controlled by a state or government. It also means “home.” It means a space on the Internet, marked by a specific address and controlled by an individual or organization. “Domain” can refer to a specific sphere of knowledge. We say that someone has “domain expertise.”

You all have domain expertise. You’re here in school to hone that.

So it’s key, I’d argue, for you to be able to showcase that digitally on your own terms.