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    So, what is that digital footprint everyone keeps talking about? Wikipedia defines the term:
     

    Digital footprints are traces left by someone's activity in a digital environment. There are two main classifications for digital footprints: passive and active. A passive digital footprint is created when data is collected about an action without any client activation, whereas active digital footprints are created when personal data is released deliberately by a user for the purpose of sharing information about oneself. In social media, “digital footprint” can refer to the size of one's online presence as it relates to the number of individuals he or she is interacting with.

    In short, your digital footprint is your online data trail.

    All of us, like it or not, are creating these trails. You might not be actively doing it, but as more and more information is being digitized and easily searchable, there is all kinds of information ABOUT YOU to be found online.

    Google-digital footprint-1

    Will Richardson wrote an article titled Footprints in the Digital Age“:
     
    As the geeky father of a 9-year-old son and an 11-year-old daughter, one of my worst fears as they grow older is that they won’t be Googled well. Not that they won’t be able to use Google well, mind you, but that when a certain someone (read: admissions officer, employer, potential mate) enters “Tess Richardson” into the search line of the browser, what comes up will be less than impressive. That a quick surf through the top five hits will fail to astound with examples of her creativity, collaborative skills, and change-the-world work. Or, even worse, that no links about her will come up at all. I mean, what might “Your search did not match any documents” imply?
     
    “Protecting” your digital footprint is becoming increasingly important as it is becoming common practice for ANYONE to google you or produce content ABOUT you.