Digital shadows are what others upload about you.
Together, this is your digital stamp.
How can you leave a better digital legacy? The answer: become a digital leader.
Eric Qualman is a digital thought leader and author of Socialnomics, which we've discussed in the past.
In his other book, titled Digital Leader, Qualman uses his personal examples to summarize five simple habits -- which conveniently form the acronym, STAMP -- to guide you in today's digital world.
Simple: Success is the result of simplification and focus. Do away with multitasking. Why? Because we become less efficient when we multitask.
True: Be true to your passion. Allowing your passion to guide your actions will leave a "true you" in your digital footprint.
Act: Nothing happens without action. Take the first step. Focus on the output of your actions, not the input or throughput.
Map: You need to have a firm destination in mind while also being flexible in the path to get where we want to be. There are many roads to one place.
People: We need to blanket ourselves with positive people both online and offline, because success doesn't happen alone.
No one is born a digital leader. Digital leaders are made.
Everything you do, fail to do, and wish you didn't do is documented forever in the digital universe. You can exert more influence --both direct and indirect -- than ever before anywhere at any time.
"In [my] book, I help people to lead a better digital life today and show them how small changes can shape what their digital legacy will look like 100 years from now," says Qualman. "Even if you avoid new technology all together, what you do offline will be posted online by others."
Qualman provides a "how to" for you to take advantage of this powerful digital age while avoiding common pitfalls that can damage your digital legacy.
What do you want your digital stamp to represent?
Whether it's tomorrow or 50 years from now, what do you want people to find on Google about you?