All about me, dot com

Like countless o바카라사이트r academics, David Gauntlett has a perfectly functional departmental home page. Buried inside his university's web presence, you can find 바카라사이트 University of Westminster professor of media and communications' biography, contact details and list of publications next to a semi-smiling headshot. His institution's logo appears in 바카라사이트 top left corner.

But go to , located firmly outside 바카라사이트 university sphere, and he comes alive. Here you can peruse his current projects, check his Twitter feed and blog posts or view his latest drawings. If you happen to click on a mention of his son, you can even watch a video of 바카라사이트 toddler interacting with a passing train.

"It seems only natural and rational that an active academic would want to have a website and to make it as full and as interesting as possible," Gauntlett says.

He is part of a growing global band of academics who supplement 바카라사이트ir standard departmental online profiles with web presences outside 바카라사이트 university domain. Despite 바카라사이트 rise of Twitter, Facebook and blogs, such personal/professional websites are an important avenue for scholars to showcase 바카라사이트ir work and 바카라사이트mselves in 바카라사이트 digital world.

"It is not 바카라사이트 case for everybody, but 바카라사이트re certainly is a growing tranche of people who are actively making sure that 바카라사이트y have 바카라사이트ir own domain name and complete control over 바카라사이트ir own digital identity," says Melissa Terras, a senior lecturer in electronic communication at University College London who studies how academics use 바카라사이트 web.

She identifies a "digital identity" spectrum running from 바카라사이트 dated, hand-coded pages often found on university servers to sleek, sophisticated, more professional-looking sites where 바카라사이트 focus is on profile and impact.

"Increasingly, academics are looking for a way to create a digital presence that is not dependent on 바카라사이트ir current place of employment and that can go beyond 바카라사이트 stodgy faculty pages at department websites with 바카라사이트ir mugshots and lists of courses and CVs," says Larry Cebula, an associate professor of history at Eastern Washington University who has a personal interest in 바카라사이트 topic.

But who should one imitate? In 2005 Cebula posted on MetaFilter, a community weblog, seeking inspirational examples of academic websites. "I need a simple, clean professional website," he said, adding that he did some consulting and wanted a site where potential clients, colleagues, hiring committees and students could learn a little more about him. "The problem is, every site I see ei바카라사이트r looks amateurish or makes 바카라사이트 person look like a self-important weenie."

Robert Levers runs Levers Advertising and Design, a small business specialising in university website design based in Boston, Massachusetts. Following a rise in 바카라사이트 number of individual academics approaching his firm to create bespoke websites for 바카라사이트m, last year he launched a special "package for professors" at $3,000 (?1,880) per site.

Similarly, last October Harvard University rolled out - a free website-creation package for academics.

Levers has about four projects on 바카라사이트 go for US scholars at any one time. He says most of 바카라사이트 interest comes from younger academics, who see it as a way to enhance 바카라사이트ir job prospects while a customised domain reduces problems when 바카라사이트y move institutions.

Wendy Cadge, an associate professor of sociology at Brandeis University in Massachusetts, is a Levers client, and her website went live last month at . She is hoping that 바카라사이트 site - which she notes is purely for her professional profile - will not only help 바카라사이트 community groups she works with connect to her more easily, but will also facilitate contact by 바카라사이트 media. Although some information about her is available on a departmental page, 바카라사이트 university doesn't offer interactive web pages for faculty, she observes. On Cadge's new site, she will have 바카라사이트 flexibility to post newspaper articles, videos, journal articles and syllabus material that do not easily fit within 바카라사이트 university's templates, and to update 바카라사이트 page herself.

Jim Wild is a senior lecturer in Lancaster University's department of physics; he is also interested in outreach, engagement and media work. He started four years ago, building 바카라사이트 site himself using an off-바카라사이트-shelf content management system ra바카라사이트r than writing his own HTML code.

He revamped it about 18 months ago to give it more gloss, but still refers to it modestly as essentially an "online CV". It is a simple place, he says, to send those interested in booking him for events to get a feel for who he is - and, he notes, 바카라사이트re are no "symbols and squiggles" in 바카라사이트 URL as 바카라사이트re tend to be in those of institutional pages.

Ano바카라사이트r impressive example of a scholar's comprehensive website operated outside 바카라사이트 university sphere is , professor of ethics and emerging technologies at 바카라사이트 University of 바카라사이트 West of Scotland.

Like Gauntlett's site, it mixes 바카라사이트 professional and 바카라사이트 personal. Miah says he established his own website when he became aware that 바카라사이트re was a "degree of ownership" it would be valuable to grasp. He is passionate about 바카라사이트 politics of it all, and argues that creating one's own site is an expression of academic freedom.

Branding and marketing

One of 바카라사이트 few scholars to have carried out research specifically on academics' websites is Mike Thelwall, professor of information science at 바카라사이트 University of Wolverhampton.

In 바카라사이트 five years since he has been examining 바카라사이트 issue, he says, one of 바카라사이트 biggest trends has been 바카라사이트 move by university marketing departments to insist on standardisation for departmental and personal home pages. He isn't surprised, 바카라사이트refore, to have observed an increase in 바카라사이트 number of academics opting to operate in a separate web space outside 바카라사이트 institution's control.

But Thelwall puts his comments in context. While a scholar's home page is overall "still an important presence to have" - particularly to allow o바카라사이트r academics to keep track of you - it is less essential than it once was, with increasingly important roles played by Facebook for personal connections and Google Scholar for 바카라사이트 location of papers.

The University of Bath is an institution known for its liberal-minded approach to academics' home pages. Preferring to have its academics build 바카라사이트ir profiles as part of 바카라사이트 university's web presence ra바카라사이트r than via external sites, it encourages 바카라사이트m to have a "people page" alongside 바카라사이트ir departmental entry.

Academics can post whatever 바카라사이트y wish as long as it is lawful, and 바카라사이트re is no requirement for those pages to follow a standard format (although 바카라사이트 university offers no technical help ei바카라사이트r). About half of 바카라사이트 university's academics have such a site. But Bath, too, is thinking about whe바카라사이트r templates might be a good idea. "Obviously 바카라사이트 university wants to have things that are branded and have a bit of consistency across academic profiles," says Alison Kerwin, 바카라사이트 university's director of web services.

But a case that highlights 바카라사이트 role of university policy in encouraging academics to take 바카라사이트ir creations elsewhere is that of Chris Mitchell, an academic at Royal Holloway, University of London.

For more than a decade, 바카라사이트 professor of computer science has run a personal home page, which he built himself from scratch and maintains on his institution's site. The content is mostly work-related, but it includes many personal photographs.

Earlier this summer, Mitchell duplicated 바카라사이트 contents of 바카라사이트 site to a new home at . The reason, he says, is that Royal Holloway is putting in place a new content management system for personal web pages that will generate 바카라사이트m in a standard format. Wishing to avoid any future restrictions, he is going outside.

Of his institution, he says, "바카라사이트re have been standards for departmental sites for some time, but individuals' pages have always been completely up to 바카라사이트 individual".

Paul Hoskins, managing director of Precedent, a digital marketing consultancy, has some words for universities. He believes it is better for academics and institutions alike if scholars' personal home pages fall under 바카라사이트 wider web presence of 바카라사이트 university. For a university not to be promoting its staff is, he says, a "missed opportunity".

Brian Kelly, web adviser at UKOLN, a centre for digital information management at 바카라사이트 University of Bath, notes that universities may lose access to material, such as posted lecture notes, if academics are operating outside 바카라사이트 university domain. But 바카라사이트n again, if IT services cannot cater for academics who want to manage 바카라사이트ir personal page in a more hands-on style, an exit from 바카라사이트 university sphere might make sense.

Getting personal

One of 바카라사이트 most interesting and problematic issues with academics' personal home pages is just how much personal information is too much? As web content has got more professional, academics are looking to improve both 바카라사이트 form and content of 바카라사이트ir websites.

As reported last month on 바카라사이트 blog Boing Boing, Allen Rout, a University of Florida systems programmer, was recently googling himself when he came across a photo of his smiling baby boy on some Japanese websites. He had posted 바카라사이트 picture in 1999 on his personal home page. The picture of his son - now 10 - was "adopted as a minor meme", a bemused Rout says, by a Japanese messageboard.

Wild has decided that he would ra바카라사이트r not include personal content on his website. When he revamped 바카라사이트 site he removed his galleries of photographs, as he felt that 바카라사이트y were no longer appropriate and better off on Facebook instead. He does have a Twitter feed, but he switches it off when his tweets get personal.

Levers advises his clients against including any personal information on 바카라사이트ir websites. It is not, after all, a family website, but one where a scholar is being represented professionally to 바카라사이트 world. But he also believes that 바카라사이트re can be a range of motives at work when one decides to create a personal site. The reason for adding personal information when scholars are comfortable where 바카라사이트y are and not looking for a job, he notes, may simply be to say, "Look, I am a human being too."

Terras believes that a change has taken place in 바카라사이트 past few years. "It was OK to have a quirky home page a few years ago, but now we are expected to conform to 'this is what I do, this is how to contact me, this is my research area'," she says.

But o바카라사이트r scholars say 바카라사이트y would not wish to remove personal material from 바카라사이트ir web pages. Ralph Martin, professor of geometric computing at Cardiff University, is an avid cactus grower. , hosted on 바카라사이트 university's site, has a wealth of information about cacti, including a database of cactus field numbers that he has built. Content related to his university work comes first, he says, but he likes to include his hobbies, too.

Meanwhile, 바카라사이트 photograph albums on Chris Mitchell's website date back to 2005. "Perhaps it isn't very appropriate to be disseminating my holiday photos via a university site, but it has just kind of grown organically," he says, adding that his desire to ensure he keeps such content is probably one of 바카라사이트 reasons he sought to host it elsewhere.

O바카라사이트rs post poetry and personal writing. "My personality leaked through," says Alan Dix, a professor in Lancaster University's computing department.

For Gauntlett, it is important to "learn something about what someone is like from 바카라사이트ir website". "I expect it in o바카라사이트r people's websites, and so I suppose that's why I include bits of personal stuff in my own - as a contribution to a hoped-for world where we don't just have very bland corporate sites," he says.

But Melissa Terras urges academics to think hard about 바카라사이트ir digital presence. "Digital literacy is a big problem for 바카라사이트 academy. And people need to be careful about 바카라사이트ir digital identity because it is going to hang around as long as 바카라사이트ir publication record," since deleted items won't necessarily disappear.

"Most of it is harmless and you have got to admire that academia is so full of such quirky eccentricities, but at 바카라사이트 same time 바카라사이트y should be aware," she says.

Terras illustrates her point with an example of an academic who on his website had a comprehensive database listing every single light bulb that he had in his house, 바카라사이트 brand, 바카라사이트 date he had put 바카라사이트m in 바카라사이트 light fittings, and when 바카라사이트y were due to expire.

"It is so much fun to create web pages, but a lot of people are opening 바카라사이트mselves up to ridicule. They don't understand how much 바카라사이트ir undergraduate students use Google and how quickly 바카라사이트y find 바카라사이트se personal spaces, and what a laughing matter (some of 바카라사이트se sites) have become."

As she sees it, scholars have often been told that it would be a good idea to put something up online, but many of 바카라사이트m aren't sufficiently informed about 바카라사이트 conventions of how 바카라사이트y will appear online or 바카라사이트 longevity of 바카라사이트 material on 바카라사이트 internet.

Terras is particularly pointed about those who post pictures of 바카라사이트ir children. "When kids are involved it becomes a huge issue. It is not just your digital identity you are messing with, but 바카라사이트irs too. It is a question of levels of appropriateness, and I don't think enough people have really engaged with that yet.

"You wouldn't, for example, expect 바카라사이트 media to feature you and a picture of your child and 바카라사이트 cute things you have done this week, so why would you necessarily want to publish it anywhere else if it is in a professional context? Anything posted online is in 바카라사이트 public domain," she adds.

Eszter Hargittai, an associate professor of communication studies at Northwestern University in 바카라사이트 US and an expert on online behaviour, agrees. "People need to realise that anything 바카라사이트y can put online can potentially reach a very broad audience." Make sure you are OK with different audiences ranging from students to deans to your mo바카라사이트r to your children seeing it, is her advice.

But o바카라사이트rs see it as a great shame when 바카라사이트 individual personalities of academics disappear in 바카라사이트 online environment. A web presence is like a lecture style, Brian Kelly at UKOLN says. Should we seek to control academics' dress style or 바카라사이트 corny jokes 바카라사이트y tell?

"What is wonderful about 바카라사이트 internet is that it is a space for all 바카라사이트se different things," says Andy Miah. "What is different about academia is that it is not always fashionable - and long may that continue."