Most of us have an online profile created through a social networking site, such as Facebook or MySpace, but those sites do not really translate well into developing your professional web presence. So, how do you establish an online presence that could actually benefit you? One that could help you land a job? Or one that would benefit you professionally?
One easy way to begin is to create an online portfolio or resume of your work. This enables you to have more dynamic and easily changeable documentation of your accomplishments and experiences. There are a variety of web sites out there that are designed for this very purpose, both free and pay-for-use based. For now, let us look at a few of the free ones:
Google Sites: Like all Google tools, Google Sites is completely free. You get 100 MB of free storage for documents, pictures, and videos. Creating a site here is extremely simple, and they offer a variety of themes, color choices, and applications that you can add to the site to make it even more dynamic. In addition, visitors can leave comments on all your pages. Check an example of my portfolio created on Google Sites here. Install Google Analytics, and you get to see the flow of traffic to and from your site.
Wikidot: Wikidot, and other free wiki-based websites are also good for creating this type of dynamic web portfolio or resume. Although they do not offer the same applications as a Google Site, they do allow for more style control. Your Wikidot free account gives you 5 separate websites with 300 MB of storage for each (you can upgrade to a Pro account if you need more space). Check out my portfolio on Wikidot here. Wikidot also allows for Google Analytics to be installed so you can keep track of your traffic.
Wordpress: Wordpress and other blog-based sites may also be an option, especially if you are wanting a site that is easier to update on a more frequent basis, or if you already have a blog.
The nice thing about all of these outlets is that they require almost zero web-development skills, and you can easily link your personal domain name to the content of your site. If you can make a Facebook Profile, you can make any of these sites. In the end, having an online portfolio or resume may help you to stand out, create a more professional profile than Facebook or MySpace allow for, or just to practice your web-developing skills. Try to be creative with your resume and develop a new way to showcase your skill set! Or, you could just print your resume on the back of a t-shirt to wear to your next interview, but the success of that is questionable...
Image courtesy of SOCIALisBETTER via flickr
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