As information by or about anyone who spends time on the web increases and fragments, there are several steps you can take to manage your online identity.

Previously, we looked at managing the number of social networks you sign up for. What do you do when you have moved on from your MySpace, Ning, or LinkedIn profile – but all your data is still there?

Don’t just forget about your profiles – in my opinion it is better to delete them than to leave behind stale or spam-filled information about you when people search for you. I’ve also written before about social network fatigue and trimming down profiles. Ideally, you should check that there is an option to delete your profile when you sign up for a service – if the option isn’t offer consider whether you want that company to always own your information.

Network by network

Here’s a brief sampling of ways to delete your account -

MySpace: Settings, Account, Account Cancellation MySpace asks you to explain why you are deleting your account, and requires email confirmation.
Twitter: Settings, Delete My Account
LinkedIn: Must email customer service.
Vox: Account, Your Account, Cancel Your Account
Second Life: Membership, Cancel Account Note: SL charges a fee if you wish to reinstate your account, even a free one.

Even from this small sample, you can see that the ease of deleting your data varies widely.

OpenID

For the networks you keep, consider using a OpenID service, such as ClaimID, to track your blogs, websites, and profiles. Michael Habib gives a thorough overview of the service’s aims at authority control on the web in an article for Library Journal.

Helping your patrons and colleagues to manage their identity

Managing your identity should be a part of every class on social networking or 23 Things. Some may not have privacy or identity concerns now, but they may change their mind in the future as they move on to the next big thing.

Have any librarians out there had to give advice to patrons about starting, managing and deleting their profiles? Leave a comment!