My digital footprint is probably larger than that of the average American, but perhaps smaller than the average teenager’s, at least in the realm of social media. I don’t have a Twitter or Instagram account, but I do have a Facebook. A quick search leads to my public profile page (I don’t believe there are any other Anna Rinkos on Facebook). This public profile, as seen by non-friends, reflects some of my educational milestones (high school graduation, etc.), my old profile and background pictures, and some public posts encouraging the development of Xena revival.
When conducting a google search of my name, the first link that pops up is my History of Genocide blog from my FSEM course from last semester. This contains posts covering my thoughts on the various readings we went over, my projects, and some political cartoons I felt were thought-provoking. Other links include one that leads to a recording of my culminating presentation from my senior year of high school, followed by a write-up of my video-editing work posted on James Groom’s bavatuesdays site. The other links that appear include some obituaries and other pages not connected to me. Interestingly, the first image that appears during a search is one that was briefly on the UMW website. However, none of the other pictures are of me.
My foremost contribution to the internet is probably through YouTube. My channel has 44 subscribers and over 68,000 views. I’ve uploaded 64 videos since 2012, most of which are either fan-made movie trailers or mash-up trailers. However, this site isn’t linked to my name, and my username appears as UvaSEP (a throwback to my first email). The site can be found here:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-V4WV2oP3lmiPtvUkQoxkg
In general, someone searching my name would probably be able to easily see that I am interested in video-editing. Most of the links reflect this. They would also notice that I am a current college student, and might be able to hazard a guess as to what geek fandoms I consider myself a part of. Overall, I’m fairly satisfied with my digital footprint in its present form. In the future, I suspect more of my video-editing work will continue to be featured. Currently, my main course site (annarinko.com) is just being developed. It will most likely feature my YouTube channel, any major research or projects I’m involved in, and my eventual CV/resume. This will hopefully allow me to continue to shape and control my own digital footprint.
