Digital Footprints and Digital Shadows = It is about me irrespective of the source.

Image source : http://hackcartoonsdiary.com/2009/04/06/psssst/

 

When writing My Digital Footprint back in 2008 I decided to keep the idea of My Digital Footprint as a single concept and took the time to explain it

 

I explain that your, our or my "Digital Footprint" is what I say about myself, what others say about me and it is how we react to our content within the community. However, a digital footprint is also about information that electronic devices automatically add to content, location, attention, how I reached something, who sent me the content, who I send it on to etc…

 

Some are trying to define a digital footprint as what you post and a shadow as what others post about you.

 

My problem with separating them is that we need a third and fourth one which is about what the algorithm says about the data I post about myself and what the algorithm says about the data I others post about me. To me this becomes too complex so hence I kept the single term. My Digital Footprint. It is about me irrespective of the source.