After so many years of living my life in the world of bleeding edge technologies, online networks, social communities, blogs, wikis, web sites and other elements of digital business, I was surprised today to be told that my Digital Eminence is weak and almost non-existent.  I realized that for so many years I have been busy living IN the social, that I neglected the actual care and feeding of my ‘social eminence.’

At first, I was miffed.  “Me?” I thought. Are they talking about the person who held one of the first IBM Holiday parties in Second Life (though my boss fell off the flying carpet and never did reappear until after New Years)?  “Me?” The colleague who organized a international virtual baby shower complete with games for all on line and physical presents at the expectant’s home (because teams were becoming so geographically disbursed and I knew that being together was going to need to be different)?  They couldn’t have missed the fact that I was one of the first people to move classroom material to e-learning, for wider reach and higher consumption?  Alas, they did, because, while I was so busy doing, I was not making sure that my work left a digital footprint.

Networking has always been important to build your eminence, but, in these digital times, documenting yourself electronically, through membership in social networks, virtual communities, writing blogs, publishing e-books, commenting on others forums, etc, builds a picture which is now highly prized.  Unlike a resume, which is a flat recitation of experiences, your digital footprint is dynamic.

I learned a valuable lesson today. Living social does not make you digitally eminent unless you tag your work in such a way that others can see you in it.

So how did you make your digital mark today?

    See you in the Cloud – Lorian