The TL;DR
- Because of the customizable nature of Commons profiles, they are well-suited to showcase different kinds of work, ranging from traditional academic articles to videos and podcasts
- Integration with sites on the Commons means users can create content on a Commons site that will automatically populate their profile
Represent your projects & interests.
Whether you’re an independent scholar looking to increase your activity in online communities or a graduate student starting to establish a scholarly presence, it can often be overwhelming to begin building a full picture of your work online. Maybe you have a limited amount of time to create a fully customized website, or perhaps you simply are not sure how to represent your projects in an effective way.
The four main areas of the Commons—profiles, groups, CORE, and sites—allow users to create a multifaceted digital presence. Think of this as a networked approach. As soon as you create a Humanities Commons account, you will start building your profile. You can add custom text to many of the fields, or simply by engaging in activities on the Commons, your profile will be automatically updated. For example, any groups you join or CORE deposits you upload will show up on your profile. Between the information you provide and your Commons activity, anyone who visits your profile can get a better sense of who you are.
You can also use your profile to compile a digital portfolio–a curated space where you link to projects, conference presentations, and other information about you that goes beyond your Commons activity. Choose a few projects you want to showcase, link to them from the “Projects” section, and then write some contextual information so other users know more about your work.
As you create sites, they will also automatically show on your profile, in addition to any blog posts you’ve written on those sites. This is another great way to make your work visible—writing blog posts on topics you care about can provide a wide-ranging depiction of your work beyond CORE deposits and Commons activity. Through this multifaceted approach, you can quickly and easily spread the word about your work.
And if you’re looking for a social media-like platform to develop even more of a digital presence, consider joining our Mastodon server! Scholarly conversations are highly encouraged on hcommons.social, so you’ll feel right at home posting about your projects. Or, if you’d rather just make some new virtual friends and not talk too much about work, you can do that on Mastodon too.
Relevant CORE deposits
If you’re looking for further reading on how you can build an online identity, check out these amazing resources in our CORE repository.
- Digital Presence 101
- Developing an Online Presence
- Re(Casting) Call: Sculpting Services & Strategies for Cultivating Online Scholarly Identity
- #Alt-Academy: Alternative Careers for Academic Scholars
- Who Am I Online? A connected approach to digital presence
FAQs
| Question | Answer |
| Can I add my CV onto my Commons profile? | Yes! When in editing mode on your profile, you can upload your CV file. This will allow users to click on your CV from your profile. |
| Can I upload separate resumes and CVs to my Commons profile? | No, you can only upload one file to the CV section of a profile. |
| Is it possible to link directly from my Commons profile to my LinkedIn account? | Yes! When editing your profile, you can add a LinkedIn URL. This will allow Commons users to go directly to your page on LinkedIn. |
