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OnlineNetworking | ... in the spirit of service

OnlineNetworking

Online presence on networking & social media sites

Online networking and social media are two ways people use the internet, and these two overlap to a large degree. I have long been active in both.

"Networking" can mean several things, but I've done a lot of it in a professional sense, especially facilitated by the internet. Some websites are useful for this as tools to help develop and keep track of my network, and a few of them build on information already online. So this attention to use of diverse networking sites also goes along with my approach to "own" what content there is online about me.

Since there is such overlap of professional networking and social media (people on LinkedIn complain about what they consider Facebook-line posts, and Facebook wants to promote itself as a place to make professional connections), I don't try to find a boundary here. They're simply listed together, but for a set of topically specialized sites. Since this page's original creation in 2008, some sites have changed, merged or ceased to exist - these are also retained for historical interest.

Active pages (general networking & social media)

The general networking and social media sites on which I have pages are as follows:

  • About.me. Set up a page on this site in 2013. A nice one-stop for links to my main activities.
  • Facebook. I used to use this fairly regularly, but tend not to share a lot of personal and family information. In 2007, two colleagues - Tobias Eigen of Kabissa and Martin Benjamin of Kamusi Project - invited me to join. Certain features are very useful, such as the group and page features that I have made good use of (although some of those features have come & gone, losing content in the process). Current pages feature:
  • LinkedIn. This professional networking site is one that I have found particularly useful for networking and more recently for short writing on selected topics. The late Guido Sohne, an IT expert in Ghana, invited me back in 2003. I was skeptical about the site's concept at first, but it has proven itself.
  • Pearltrees. A kind of bookmarking site that I joined in 2015. Have tried it out, but not used extensively.
  • Pinterest. Created an account in 2012, but only in recent years have begun to use as a place to collect images related to selected research and writing interests, notably millets, the "ikigai" meme, and Chinese-Hausa publications.
  • Reddit. Began submitting links of blog posts in September 2014.
  • Ryze. This was the first networking site I joined, but I have not actively used it for a while. Pam McLean of CAWD in the UK invited me back in 2003. It has a less professional feel than LinkedIn but not as dynamic as Facebook.
  • Spoke. Joined in 2008 as another location to post my credentials (there was information evidently generated for the page by the Spoke system). Found no trace of that in 2012, so set up a new page. Most recent update in 2016.
  • Twitter. Joined in April 2007 just to test it out, and paid it little attention until a couple of years later. Currently use a lot for certain news and posting.
  • Viadeo. I joined this primarily for professional networking in French, though it hasn't yet turned out to be as useful as I'd hoped.
  • Xing. Joined this in Nov. 2008 mainly because this site had a link with Zoom (see below), which I was already on. Most recent update in 2015.

Active pages (specialized)

  • Academia.edu. Joined this in 2012 and have listed publications. Since this has gone to a paid subscription format, I use it less.
  • DevelopmentAid.org. Joined in 2013 as a specialized location to post my development credentials. (The link provides a partial view of my profile page, requiring log-in to view fully).
  • Devex. Joined in July 2009 (long enough, it seems, to have a second page.)
  • H-Net profile. Set this page up in 2014 when H-Net switched to web-based discussion networks. (Need to be logged in to H-Net to view.)
  • Methodspace. Joined in early 2013 as a place to pose questions on aspects of research methods.
  • Peace and Collaborative Development Network. Joined in June 2013.
  • ResearchGate. Joined in 2015, but have yet to fully use (was originally focused on Academia.edu, which has a similar purpose).
  • TakingITGlobal. Joined in Jan. 2009. Minimal info on my page there.
  • Wikipedia user page on en.wikipedia.org. I have contributed a fair amount to Wikipedia (mainly the English edition), most of that in relation to work on support for localization in African languages, but also on selected other topics of academic, personal and professional interest. See "interwiki" links on that page for access to contributions to other language editions. See also the page on Wikipedia on this site.

Pages on reference sites.

Pages on changed or defunct sites

Some sites have eliminated profile pages, and others have ceased to function. Where available, links to archives of pages are given:

  • Bright. Set up a page with this service some years before it was merged into LinkedIn in 2014. The URL, bright.com, now belongs to another kind of business.
  • Del.icio.us. Had a page on this once well-known bookmarking site, but was already using it less by the time it went through some transitions and ceased to exist (background).
  • Digital Divide Network. Had a page on DDN from about 2007, but that site changed its URL, some years ago, and now no longer functions (background.)
  • Doostang. Joined in 2008 as another location to post my credentials. This site apparently no longer hosts individual profiles, but now promotes a resume review service.
  • Google profile/Google+. Originally set up this page in April 2009, when the service was new. Didn't use it very actively. Google ended this service in April 2019.
  • iConnect Online. Set up user page in October 2012. This site - iconnect-online.org - was an initiative of the International Institute for Communication and Development (IICD), which ceased operations at the end of 2015.
  • Idealist. Networking site set up by Action Without Borders. Joined and set up profile in April 2009; did some touch ups in October 2012. The site has since done away with personal profiles, but facilitates locating organizations and activities.
  • Klout. Set up a page on this site in 2012, mainly out of curiosity. The service, which ended in 2018, was intended to score and rank one's influence on social networks (background).
  • Tech@State.[archived page] Joined in July 2012 just prior to the Tech@State conference (co-located with Wikimania 2012 at George Washington University). At that time I was active on unclassified government wikis in relation to contract employment.
  • Zoom (ZoomInfo). [old link doesn't work] This site aggregates info from online and there was info on me so I "claimed" it and made some edits, and last updated it in 2014. (Working on this 2019-9-21)
Page last modified on 2019-09-21 08:35
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