Virallock will be attending LEAD Conferences for Delta Sigma Pi in order to promote and educate Delta Sigma Pi members on Virallock. Virallock is proud to be partnering with Delta Sigma Pi and looks forward to working with its members. Below is a description of the LEAD conferences that we will be attending and dates.

“Leadership and Excellence Academies for Deltasigs (LEAD) focus on educational development of all members of the Fraternity. A variety of LEAD events are offered year-round by Delta Sigma Pi, including: Schools, Provincial Conferences, Volunteer Leadership Workshops, LeaderShape® and the educational programs at Grand Chapter Congress. These variety of conferences, workshops and training sessions provide opportunities for you to maximize your potential in areas of personal, professional, leadership and fraternal development. Grants are provided by the Delta Sigma Pi Leadership Foundation to the Fraternity which in turn results in lower registration fees for all attendees.”

Here are a few ways high school students can begin using LinkedIn:

1)      Getting into college- Most high school students aren’t thinking about jobs yet but they are thinking about getting into their college of choice. LinkedIn is a great way to start connecting with the college you are interested in attending. Connect with professors, the colleges themselves, alumni and current students. Begin asking thoughtful and intelligent questions that will shine a positive light on you.

2)     Start building your resume- It is never too early to start building your resume. LinkedIn is a great way to get started with resume development. Do you have a summer job? That should go on your LinkedIn profile. You should also connect with your employer and people you work with. Asking current employers for LinkedIn recommendations will also be helpful to you down the road.

3)     Internships- It is never too early to start thinking about your first internship. LinkedIn is a great way to get noticed by internship recruiters and to also seek out internships.

4)     Connections for the future- Do you want to work in Marketing when you get older or Finance? Now is the time to start connecting with professionals in your prospective field of work. Ask them questions about how they got into the career and position they are in today.

Here are some other articles with helpful tips for using and getting started with LinkedIn:

http://nextinfashion.wordpress.com/2010/04/26/how-to-use-linkedin-as-a-student-make-things-happen-networking-part-2/

http://nextinfashion.wordpress.com/2010/04/26/how-to-use-linkedin-as-a-student-make-things-happen-networking-part-2/

TopCollegesOnline has provided infographic insight on who these academic social frontiers are.

            Instagram 3.0 is here and with it Photomap. Now users have the ability to geo-tag their photos and let their followers see where in the world they are or have been. The new update also gave the popular app a sleeker look and lets users browse images faster with an infinite scroll. The ability to organize photos on a map via a geo-locator provides a fun way for Instagrammers to interact and browse photos. This feature does however raise a concern for privacy and safety when it comes to social media.

By default Instagram users have a public profile, meaning anyone can follow the user and view the photos. If the public user has updated Instagram 3.0 and has Photomap, followers can view exactly where the user took the photo. If these photos are taken from a home or work environment this could be a cause for concern. Instagram prompts users to select certain photos they want to be placed on the Photomap. Overlooking the agreement and editing process or a general lack of concern could lead to privacy and safety issues. This also poses a threat to teenagers and kids on Instagram who may not be fully aware of who is following them or how Photomap works.

So how can users ensure their Instagram doesn’t become vulnerable to the Instacreepy? Instagram users need to make their profile private. By doing so, people who want to follow the user will have to send a follow request, which the user may accept or decline. If Instagram users don’t want to make their profile private and still wish to use Photomap, there is a way to edit the photos that can be seen on the Photomap.

When Photomap is first applied to a user’s Instagram, the app prompts users to edit photos they want added to the map. To edit more photos, simply go to the Photomap tab, then select edit in the top right corner. This allows the user to deselect specific photos they don’t want shown on their Photomap. At the time the user uploads a photo there is an on/off selection for Photomap, along with the option to upload to other social media sites.

If you do allow your profile to be public follow these guidelines when using Photomap. Photos taken while on vacation, on the road, with friends in a social setting, and other environments that are open to the public are most likely safe to add to your Photomap. Avoid positing photos to the Photomap that are in places you are everyday, such as your home or work. I’m sure your friends would be happy if you kept their houses off the map as well. Don’t post that you are alone in the places you are tagging or putting on your Photomap. Unless your profile is private anyone can see the information, just keep that in mind.

Otherwise, have fun with Photomap, enjoy seeing all the places you and your friends have been. Strive to take a picture in each city, state, or country you go to. Document a road trip with friends. Go to historical places or monuments. The Photomap will tell a story and you will have a digital scrapbook to show friends and family.

Pictures taken from Instagram.com

by Kristen Kassab

For most parents social media and the internet are the “land of the unknown”. For this very reason parents usually react to it in one of two ways 1) A completely hands off approach because they know nothing about it or 2) An overbearing approach out of fear. Neither of these approaches benefits anyone because you are not teaching your teen how to utilize the internet responsibly. Social media is here to stay whether you like it or not and it’s important that we, as parents, start teaching our teens at a young age how to behave responsibly and present themselves in a positive way online. Teenagers are too young to understand the consequences their online behaviors have on their lives, so it is our job as parents to teach them how to embrace the technology responsibly. Not sure where to start? Here are a few tips:

Get informed: Parents, get social already! One of the fastest growing social media user groups is people over 55.  If your mother and your teenager can figure it out, so can you. YourSphere is just one of the many sites out there that you can use to start getting informed.

Inform your teen: The biggest and most influential social platforms are enforced to include strict privacy laws, and more often than not, don’t default to the stricter policies. Teach them, or let your teen know that alternate, safer privacy settings exist. Also, make them aware of how they might be seen by others online. You can even use examples found in news where social media has gotten someone in trouble. For example “10 people who lost their jobs over social media.”

Monitor, but don’t smother: Requiring your child to give you their password and let you look over their shoulder 24/7 won’t benefit anyone. You aren’t teaching them how to be responsible on their own and odds are they will find another way to get around you. Instead, spread your own wings on social media and connect with your kids. You’ll be amazed at how socially acceptable it is.

Let someone else be the bad guy: If you don’t feel comfortable monitoring your child find a third party. Such as Virallock, there are plenty of options for social media monitoring services which will allow you to watch out for your child’s online safety without having to be the bad guy.

Moral of the story, you can’t ignore social media because it’s not going anywhere. Be proactive and stay knowledgeable in online privacy, security, and social responsibilities.

It’s the first day of school.  Jimmy is just one student among many; he’s meeting up with friends, finding his classes, putting books in his locker, et cetera.  But there’s something special about Jimmy, something that’s making the other students whisper behind his back.  Something that’s making him stick out in a less-than-flattering way.

On this very first day of school, Jimmy is wearing a piano tie.

Jimmy might be a great guy once you get to know him (a star athlete, a pro skateboarder, who knows?).  But to all the kids who are seeing him for the first time today, he’s always going to be associated with his choice of neckwear.  When he runs for class president, they will remember the piano tie.  When he asks that girl in English to the homecoming dance, she’s going to remember the piano tie.  When he wins the Nobel Prize fifty years from now and his old high school friends get interviewed, they’re going to remember the piano tie.

Your social media presence is sort of like this: it lasts forever, it’s the first impression people get of you, and it can sort of ruin your life if you mess it up badly enough.

Some tragically common ways in which people mess up badly:

Racism/sexism.  It’s unlikely to make you any friends, and it’s guaranteed to piss somebody off.  Even if you made your Daniel Tosh moment “private”, a friend might find it funny enough to pass along to somebody else.

Party pics/nudity.  Social media is like cars: you shouldn’t use it under the influence.  Best case, they get you invited to some crazy parties.  Worst case, they cost you jobs, girlfriends, friendships, and academic opportunities.

Evidence of law breaking.  Firstly, this can actually get you arrested depending on what it is (vandalizing a cop car, distributing heroin, etc.) Secondly, the sorts of people who are going to be impressed by this are probably not going to be very valuable additions to your social network.

Threats/anything with weapons.  Just bought a chrome-plated Colt .45?  Sweet.  Don’t pose with it on your Facebook.  Hunting photos can be an exception, but even here you should be careful.  And don’t even jokingly threaten anyone; it’s easy to take out of context.

Mental disorders/addictions.  It’s been estimated that one in four Americans have a mental disorder, but there’s still an overwhelming stigma attached to it.  Whatever it is (anxiety attacks, depression, prescription painkillers, etc.), share it with friends but don’t put it on Facebook.

Mistakes like these can very quickly get you labeled “weird” or “scary” by your peers, and they often have repercussions that go well beyond school (for example, this).   It’s helpful to have somebody else routinely looking over your social media; what seems innocuous to you might seem extreme to others.  It’s essential to approach social media with the same prudence and care as your wardrobe choices on the first day of school.

How they are perceived on the internet is accepted as reality, whether you like it or not. Thus, it’s important to control what they are posting and sharing for the world to see.

When you try and tell your children to be mindful of what they’re posting on their social media profiles, they may try and tell you that just their friends that can see it, or that they can always delete it. It’s important to know that when you post anything on the internet it’s out there forever and is never as safe as you think.

There is no permanent ‘delete button’ on the internet. You can delete something on your profile but it lives on in the internet and through others. Most search engines index all internet content, so your content will live on for a while. Also, sometimes other people will take screen shots of posts and will re-upload or email and share them with others. You may think only your friends can see your posts, but they can always share with their friends, and so on. Thus, you should be mindful of what you post in the first place, rather than having to worry about doing damage control later.

Online reputation management can have a big impact on your child’s life, when it comes to things such as applying for colleges and getting a job. A negative online reputation may result in being turned down for scholarships or the job offer of a lifetime.

Some tips to educate your children about online reputation:

• Consider signing up for the Virallock’s monitoring service. This program is designed to scan your child’s social media presence 24/7 and will send you alerts if any “questionable content” is detected.
• Check your child’s security settings; don’t be afraid to be a little overbearing in the beginning especially if your child is very young.
• Talk to your children about the importance of only being friends with people they truly know and trust. You don’t want to allow a stranger access to your life and information.
• Educate your children on how the internet works and that everything they post today will have a lasting impact on their lives. You may think they aren’t listening but trust me they are.

Start talking to your child today. One mistake online could affect their entire future.

It’s critical to make how you are in person match with how you are viewed online. It’s important to critically assess the information you’re putting out via social media. Is the picture of yourself you’ve created online the way you want people to see you?

If you haven’t considered your personal brand, there’s no better time than the present to get yourself in the habit of maintaining your brand. This Mashable article provides some helpful tips on how to get started on creating your personal brand.

It is important to think of social media as a tool you can use to help reach your educational and professional goals. Establish yourself as a thought leader by posting mindful, relevant content on your social media profiles. Another tip is to create a personal blog that reflects and reinforces the school and career goals you have for yourself. This can serve as a digital resume as well.

Branding is extremely important, whether you’re applying to colleges or applying for jobs. Student Branding is a blog that has lots of great ideas and advice for high school and college students about starting and tailoring their own personal brand. By knowing your own brand you better know what to talk about and what to emphasize about yourself when interviewing and filling out college applications.

If you start these good habits now, when it comes time for job searching and the interview process you will be a step ahead. You’ll already have an idea of what is important to get across about yourself in an interview or on a job application. You may not always have a lot of time to make an impression on others, so knowing the best way to present yourself will be a big help.

The internet and social media have helped improve life in several ways, but not without some consequences. It’s essential to make your online profiles match your personal brand if you wish to succeed.

“When I give you my resume, I’m giving you a two dimensional view of who I say I am. If you check out my viral footprint, you see a much fuller picture of who I am,” said Michael P. Grace, founder of Virallock, a company that specializes in helping teens and young adults clean up their online reputation and establish a more positive presence.

“Right, wrong or indifferent, social media platforms have changed the reality of our lives. Facebook wasn’t intended to be an extension of your resume, but the reality is, it’s become that.”

Grace recommends embracing the idea that your social media page is an extension of your life and using it to your advantage.

If you list “camp counselor” on your resume, make sure there are photos on your Facebook or Twitter page that illustrate that.

“If you have it on your resume, you need to have some trail of that on your social media presence,” he said.

Such photos, Grace says, are part of how you brand yourself.

Read the entire article here.