Running head: Digital Identities 1

Analyzing the Digital Identities of Nick Smart and Steven Hobbs

Colleen Graham

EDU520: Digitally Mediated Teaching and Learning

Dr. Linda Kaiser

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Digital Identity

` Although the term ‘digital identity’ is new it is evolving, as are the concepts around it.

Digital identity is the combined collection of online and digital data resources that together form

a usable representation of ourselves. A good digital identity combines a variety of data points,

including name, age, address, nationality, location, fingerprints, biometric data, government

issued ID scans, password, email, phone number. There are many issuers of digital identity and

the strength and capacity of these digital identities vary widely. They include companies with

large social data sets, like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and many more (Poore, M.2011).

As such, almost all internet users currently have multiple digital identities in the form of

Personas. The amalgamation of those personas form the basis of our emerging individualized

digital identity. Digital Identity, used appropriately and professionally can be great and very

effective. Many people believe that your digital identity may actually be more important than

your physical identity. For example when people look at your identity locally, they are able to

see your storefront, meet your employees and get a chance to meet you up close and personal.

When people are looking you up online, they do not have the same ability. When you

have a strong identity online, you will be more visible in the search engines. When an employer

is looking up information that has to do with you, you want to not only appear but showcase your

professionalism and positivity. Another aspect of digital identity is access and sharing. Social

media sites promote sharing. Good, bad, or ugly, everyone’s life is being shared online every

single day (Poore, M.2011).

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However, it is important to note that social media are not the cause of our behavior; they

are merely the public conduit. Acknowledging mistakes and dissonance is an important aspect of

digital identity. Individual development, after all, takes time.

Method

Digital identity is a way to market/brand you. In an increasingly digital society, personal

data has become a new form of currency. The biggest challenge for political and business leaders

is to establish the trust that enables that currency to keep flowing. Digital identity is the sum of

all digitally available information about an individual. It is becoming increasingly complete and

traceable, driven by the exponential growth of available data and the big data capabilities to

process it (Poore, M. 2011).

This paper will analyze the online identities of two professors’ from The College of New

Rochelle, Steven Hobbs and Nick Smart. Both professors’ embody professionalism, positivity

and intelligence. Steven and Nick are experts in their fields; they ensure that their students of all

backgrounds and abilities achieve excellence. They collaborate with colleagues and students, to

create a school culture of respect and success. Their digital identities demonstrate leadership and

innovation in and outside of the lecture halls, which embodies lifelong learning.

Steven Hobbs

Steven Hobbs's research interests include religion and literature, the short story, novel

theory, post-war American fiction, Modernism, literature and visual arts, literature and music,

Pentecostalism, apocalypticism, James Joyce, Flannery O'Connor, and James Baldwin.

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Steven Hobbs has written on topics such as Biblical intertextuality in the work of D.H.

Lawrence and literary exploration of the unconscious in the work of Marcel Proust for The

Modernism Lab at Yale University. Hobbs is also a writer of fiction. He is presently working on

a collection of linked short stories, some of which have been published in Letters, a literary

journal from the Yale Institute of Sacred Music.

In addition, Hobbs serves on the general committee for the Prison Writing Program at

PEN American Center and is also chairman of the fiction committee for the annual writing

contest. He recently delivered a series of lectures for the Writer's Symposia Series at Saint

Joseph's College MFA Program as well as a lecture on religious themes in the late fiction of

Raymond Carver at the Yale Institute of Sacred Music.

Hobbs's courses include The Art of Storytelling, The Short Story, Modes of Analysis, and

Journal Writing. He also directs individualized studies with students on James Joyce and the

literature of the Harlem Renaissance. Steven Hobbs social media sites are pictured below;

beginning with his Twitter, his tweets consist of encouragement, art, religion and inspirational

thoughts, his following is almost 1,000. Twitter is a great way to connect and follow as many

personalities as one may want to. Apart from the youth Twitter interests all age groups.

Steven Hobbs uses his tweets and retweets to educate and engage with his followers on

many topics. Art (which is a favorite of Hobbs’) can also be found throughout his twitter posts

and blogs. In showcasing art, Hobbs is attempting to communicate at a powerful emotional level

to those within their own culture. Already, the world is so inextricably interconnected that

cultural and economic isolationism is unthinkable, even if it were desirable. But more needs to

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done, and perhaps the most effective thing that can be done is to aggressively promote

multicultural understanding which Hobbs’ passionately does.

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Tweet by Steven Hobbs about books that he found to be beneficial in his life.

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Dr. Nick Smart

Dr. Nick Smart specializes in English Literature of the 19th and 20th centuries and

schools of literary theory, particularly Psychoanalysis, Feminism, and Poststructuralism. He is

the author of Success in Sports, a book of African-American history for middle-grade readers,

and several critical articles and study guides covering a broad range of English and American

Literature from various theoretical and pedagogical perspectives.

Dr. Smart’s research and writing interests include women novelists, women in the novel,

and the history of the novel, literary theory, cultural criticism, and fiction writing. Dr. Smart also

has a scholarly interest in the music of Bob Dylan, and teaches a class titled “The Singer-

Songwriter” about the influence of this artist’s music. He also gave the lecture “'Never Do You

Justice in Reason or Rhyme’: The Talent of Bob Dylan” at the Larchmont Village Center in

October 2010, which aired on Larchmont Mamaroneck Community Television. Dr. Smart is co-

editor of Dylan at Play (Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2011), a collection of essays about Bob

Dylan for use by students and fans alike.

Nick Smarts social media accounts are pictured below. Along with pictures and

substantial information Smarts also uses his social media platform to market himself and his

positive and influential events and blogs. Starting with Twitter, Smarts’ educates on that

particular platform art facts and theories are topics that are usually discussed.

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Nick Smarts’ twitter account

Visuals to Nick Smarts’ blogs

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Nick Smarts’ posts visuals to his blog.

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Nick Smarts’ LinkedIn account displays his professionalism and educational background.

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Nick Smarts’ blog site

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Two blogs and visuals, which was also posted on his twitter.

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When considering taking that huge leap into creating a social media account, you want to

remember that portraying your authentic self at all times is incredibly important. Once

information is on the internet it can potentially become viral, or worse, end up in the wrong

hands. It takes time and practice in order to maintain an influential and credible digital identity.

Steven Hobbs and Nick Smart digital identities do just that .They provide their followers and

readers with inspiration and education, positivity and hope.

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References

Bhatt, I. (2012). Digital literacy practices and their layered multiplicity. Educational Media

International, 49(4), 289-301.  - This article reviews one of the ways digital literacy is interpreted

and applied in education.

Heick, T. (2013). 4 Principles of Digital Literacy 

Poore, M.(2011). Digital Literacy: Human Flourishing and Collective Intelligence in a

Knowledge Society. Australian Journal of Language and Literacy, 19 (2),20-26.)

Zwilling, M. (2015). 6 keys to a positive online presence and reputation.Entrepreneur