Most fail at this (but it's not too late)

Once upon a time, you had only one footprint on the world.

For my generation (Millennials), we hold the strange position of growing up during the transition from the analog to the digital world.

We saw the rise of the internet, 9/11, the fall of Enron and Bernie Madoff as we made it through our education and into the real world.

Our children will most likely see the rise of AI, fusion energy, man’s first steps on Mars, and the rise of a new superpower.

Before all of this, though, we all start with tiny steps, little pieces of data floating around us.

Our name, our birthdate, our blood type are among the first things attached us.

Followed by a social security number, an address of residence, and dental records and vaccination records.

As we grow, we eventually have an email address, a phone number, and a driver’s license.

That’s just the starter pack for a young adult.

Your personal identity starts to take shape.

Our children now have digital footprints starting from the age of four or five.

Without a doubt, their digital presence will shape their identities in ways that we haven’t considered, interleaving with their personal identities to shape an online identity.

Today, I want to discuss and reflect a bit on how your digital presence affects your identity as well as how it shapes the digital heirloom that you leave behind.

Two worlds, one family

There’s no way to avoid it unless you complete unplug from society and live off-grid.

Even if you start at this moment, you’ve already been touched by the digital world, forever having a piece of yourself floating around.

The content you’ve consumed as well as the digital trail that you’ve left behind across dozens of virtual purchases are public record.

However, the core of your identity which we’ve been exploring and crystallizing over the past few days, is something that has its roots in your upbringing and your life experiences.

Your digital presence is something that is guided by these principles, your curiosities, and your aspirations.

• You have questions, the internet has answers.

• You have answers, the internet has questions.

• You have opinions, the internet has mirrors.

Your digital heirloom is something that takes shape around your digital footprint.

So here’s a fun exercise to take stock of your current situation:

1. Google yourself.

2. Search using Microsoft Edge.

3. As your favorite AI engine who you are.

I can tell you from personal experience that each one of these will return a different set of results.

For most of you, there probably isn’t all that much to start with.

There are most likely many people that will pop up with your name.

They aren’t necessarily your competition unless you intend to dominate search, but they have their own digital footprints as well.

In any case, look at the results and responses.

Do they reflect your mission statement, your core values, your origin story in any way?

It’s likely that your social media profiles will pop up in the first few pages.

If you put your schoolwork online or were a part of an extracurricular activity or won competitions of any form, those will probably appear as well (depending on how long ago they happened).

Are you who you are in the digital sense as much as in reality?

If not, creating a digital heirloom will address this misalignment.

Let the games begin…

Yes, there is a point to all of these ridiculous reflective exercises that I’ve provided this week.

It’s to establish a baseline and a foundation for yourself to start creating a digital heirloom that is flexible, adaptive, and reflective of you.

Not impressed with your current state of affairs online?

Here’s a list of things to consider doing to spruce it up:

1. Review your social media profiles.

2. Update your professional profiles and activities online.

3. Unsubscribe from old and unused websites that still have your credentials.

4. Look through tagged photos and videos.

5. Scrub out your inbox.

At the very least, these are things that are good to do at least once a year.

As our digital trails extend into years and decades, it will be just as much a part of our lives as the real world.

Our children will have it their entire lives. If nothing else, your digital heirloom (whatever it becomes for you) will be a reference for them.

Let me know if you have any additional actions you do for your device maintenance and management routines.

I’ll have a more comprehensive checklist in the future, but this is a good starting point.