African Students’ Build Your
Brand Reputation and Protect It

William Jackson, M.Ed., Josh Rodriguez and Jon Gregory
@wmjackson #MyQuestToTeach

“Education is the most powerful weapon which
you can use to change the world.” William Butler Yeats

African Students: Build Your Brand Reputation and Protect It
The more African students use technology, the more they create
a digital footprint that will build in global significance.
African students are being judged, evaluated, and scrutinized
by their digital content as they mature into digital citizens
advancing in higher education and deciding on career fields
that are technology based and not the traditional careers that
society or foreign companies try to condition them to take.

Social Media content can influence the future opportunities
for African students, the mistakes of a past wrong action or
choice can come back to haunt a person especially if someone is out to hurt reputations. The ability to extend your credibility because of technology can happen by influencing E-reputations and E-personalities. African students across their nation and even their continent need to be involved in, associated with and actively participate in positive educational, social and leadership building experiences.

Social Media is a platform that can build a student’s Brand
or potentially destroy it before it can ever get started.
It is important that African students understand the
importance of what they are developing (brand) and what digital reputations are capable of achieving. Branding and reputations
are collaborations, students can market themselves by developing
a trusted and respected personal or entrepreneurial Brand.
A Brand is a promise to whatever aspirations to be and must
be protected and guarded by strategically planning.

Understanding the abilities, recognizing talents,
building skills and planning strategies that involve growth
and staying away from stupid stuff. “It takes years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.” Warren Buffett

It is important that a students’ E-reputation
(electronic reputation) and E-personalities
(electronic personality) be protected at all costs because the
infusion, integration, and engagement of technology allows for
being seen on a global platform of global connectivity.
Branding is not the style in clothes, current footwear fads,
artistic hairstyles, video gaming high scores or even the latest
language slang; it is being academically prepared,
professionally aware in a highly competitive and diverse
world on a foundation level based on education, personal
growth and improvement.

As a higher education instructor, I encourage my students to
connect with others in their major study to share information about best practices, experiences, resources, and even to collaborate on projects. Learning takes place outside of the classroom just as effective if not more than in the classroom. “A good  reputation  is  more valuable than money.” Publilius Syrus

African students just as students around the world need to
understand that their lives are under scrutiny, people are
watching their personal decisions that are projected on digital canvases that the world is watching. Whom they are associated with; “guilt by association” and alliances.

It is important to strategically place themselves where they
can network to increase their visibility to others who have
similar interests and goals and build that Brand.
The hope is to help students of all levels and their parents
understand that associations do matter. Branding can earn
scholarships, internships and increase employment options.
In today’s society parental guidance is needed, but if
parents are not knowledgeable about technology the whole
family must learn together.

E-reputation, E-personality, Social Branding, and the
perceptions that people have play a strong part in the
Branding of students and influences their future.
African students should ask themselves how do they
perceive themselves and how do others perceive them,
do these match and what are the differences and
similarities.

This encourages areas to be addressed that need
strengthening, modification, and weaknesses.
“Everywhere I go, I’m second to arrive. My reputation
precedes me.” Jarod Kintz

In this world of constant technological change,
competitiveness, cultural diversity and lifestyle decisions
students globally must leverage their greatest asset
THEMSELVES in their Brands.
The contributions in the blog are from Jon and Josh
students attending Edward Waters College millennials
that are attending conferences, WordCamp, EdCamp,
WordPress and TEDxFSCJ. They are defining their culture
and developing their Brands.

Resources:
Guy Kawasaki | If I Knew Then What I Know Now | SXSWedu
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eF3ETXzVm-g
MC Hammer | Using Social Media to Develop Your Brand
https://youtu.be/QZn-yn6V_As
Systems of adversity: for the love of teaching | Rusul Alrubail |
TEDxKitchenerED https://youtu.be/CzHP-PIFBH0
The Danger of a Single Story | Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
https://youtu.be/D9Ihs241zeg
Survival of the Fittest Through Intelligence
https://knowledgeablelearners.wordpress.com/2016/12/18/survival-of-the-fittest/
EdCampUSA in Philadelphia
http://s1211.photobucket.com/user/williamdjackson/TEDxFSCJ%202016%20Salon/story