How’s Amanda been?

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 This past week, I have been packing my apartment up, and as I continue to do so my Amazon Echo proudly plays “Scamanda”. If you recall from a previous post, Amanda and Her Blog, I was listening to a story about someone pretending to have cancer. Well, the podcast has gotten really really interesting because it is telling me about how much of the case that the Police Department and the investigator have against Amanda is coming from HER VERY OWN BLOG (Webster, 2023). She is literally writing down everything that is happening to her day in and day out. 

Amanda’s own words will lead to her downfall and it makes me think about this topic of online appearance and digital footprint. We all hear about the digital footprint in different capacities, especially when it comes to social media spaces. There’s an adage that says, what is out there will always stay out there, referring to social media. We see that as celebrities are constantly put under the microscope and we see that in the podcast. We also know that intellectual property exists online as faculty and institutions continue to use those online spaces when developing and publishing course material (Dennen, 2016). The digital space is where everything exists and can, unfortunately, be used against you. Being careful is important but a digital footprint should not scare educators to educate nor should it scare researchers from researching. There is a balance that is required when considering digital safety. I think Amanda would’ve scammed the people around her any way she could and the method she chose was through her blog. Digital media can be an intimidating space but it is not one that is disappearing any time soon so how do you see yourself protecting your identity within that space?


Dennen, V. P. (2016). Ownership of digital course artifacts: Who can access and use your words, images, sounds, and clicks? Quarterly Review of Distance Education, 17(4), 5-19.


Webster, C. (Host). (2023 - present). Scamanda [Audio Podcast]. Lionsgate Sound. https://open.spotify.com/show/3UNxeZPD5fDSzm26mqTjgc?si=4536ccfc248f49a4.

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