In an era where online users share and disseminate public content, a 'digital' dramaturgical self image is being built and stored. The question arising from this is, who or what is building our digital dramaturgical self? Furthermore, are users even aware of having another builder involved in shaping the image of their digital dramaturgical self? The methodological approach will include a website remodelling, plugin installation—with the specific purpose of increasing audience conversation—setting up a content marketing strategy, social media engagement and collaboration efforts, and Web 2.0 digital sphere visibility. Projects such as Bigfoot Digital Footprint aim to increase audience awareness, but more so, to encourage audience engagement in PEST (Public Engagement with Science Technology) science communication and creation.

1. All the World’s a Digital Stage: Dramaturgical Self and a Content Marketing Strategy for
BigFoot Digital Footprint.
Melissa Hoover
Kevin Koidl
ABSTRACT
In an era where online users share and disseminate public content, a 'digital' dramaturgical self
image is being built and stored. The question arising from this is, who or what is building our
digital dramaturgical self? Furthermore, are users even aware of having another builder involved
in shaping the image of their digital dramaturgical self? The methodological approach will include
a website remodelling, plugin installation—with the specific purpose of increasing audience
conversation—setting up a content marketing strategy, social media engagement and collaboration
efforts, and Web 2.0 digital sphere visibility. Projects such as Bigfoot Digital Footprint aim to
increase audience awareness, but more so, to encourage audience engagement in PEST (Public
Engagement with Science Technology) science communication and creation.
Keywords: Digital dramaturgical self, Bigfoot Digital Footprint, content marketing strategy, Web
2.0, PUS, PEST.
INTRODUCTION
Social scientists in the late 1980s (Myers 1987) had reached the conclusion that the internet was a
place of “identity manipulation.” Tim Berners-Lee (Berners-Lee 1989) did not submit a proposal
with this vision of his world wide web, his vision would have it maintained as an open-source
“common information space in which we communicate by sharing information” (Berners-Lee
1998). However, by the mid-1990s, with the popularity of AOL chat rooms and like sources, the
ability to selectively preserve the self-image given to others (Walther 1996) was tested and
documented for accuracy. (Various authors (Rudder 2016) and academics (Gibbs et al. 2006) have,
likewise, shown, when dating online the audience likes to manipulate the image of themselves for
others.) This phenomenon is known as the Dramaturgical Self, the self users portray or ‘act out’
for others; the theatre influencing daily life (emphasis added, Goffman 1959, p. 254).
The purpose of the dramaturgical self is to perform a role for others to offer the image users want
to be viewed. And yet, when users place themselves online, they do not control how others interact
with their digital selves, nor the personalisations algorithms cultivate in suiting their digital selves;
the user loses control over the digital dramaturgical self—the self of whom BigFoot is teaching
users to become more aware.
THE QUESTION
“The key to dramaturgical success is to control the audience's access to information so that
elements of performances that are given are such that audiences believe they were given off,” (as
quoted by, Fine and Manning 2003, p. 46). In a realm of ungoverned digital conversations, data

2. ethics, lack of data regulation, are we building our digital dramaturgical selves, or is
some(one/thing) doing it for us?
Perhaps the more pointed question remains, are users even aware of having another builder
involved in shaping the image of their digital dramaturgical self?
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK: BRIDGING PUBLIC CONVERSATION
Through the monitoring of user’s Facebook (FB) profiles BigFoot.ie’s app, available in App Store
(Bigfoot Digital Footprint) and Google Play store for download, results show, audiences are very
aware of their own self-image (the dramaturgical self). Most of us know how often they like,
comment, share, or post on any given content on social media. However, most of us will not be
able to recall the information passed around online 10-years-back. But, our technology remembers.
The ideas and stereotypes built around these instances stick to the digital dramaturgical self’s
image and essentially technology has built our digital twin. This personalised experience of our
web platforms is piecemealed off to creditors, loan distributors, banks, commericalised interests,
etc. (Rosner 2014). Any information collected online has been store and still existents, it has built
layers of who and what you are today. It’s all connected.
This information is not controlled, it is not owned, there are no ethics or laws in place to govern
the distribution of your full digital dramaturgical self, but, it is there for social media giants to sell
if they so chose. In the research produced by Rosner (2014) the researcher argues for a required
discourse to help people learn about the amount of control users have, and also of what information
is known about the users themselves. Due to the nature of this project being on a discussion of data
ethics and privacy laws—a subject which could easily turn into mistrust and derision—it was
necessary to pay attention to the image of the project and app.
BigFoot.ie will be modelled to safeguard user privacy and friendliness while encouraging public
engagement and feedback. In a review by researchers Bucchi and Trench (2016) science
communication called for increased public engagement through the 2000 Science and Society
Report science conversations of the House of Lords in U.K., this changed science conversations
from PUS (Public Understanding of Science) to PEST (Public Engagement with Science
Technology). The fundamental core theory in Bucchi and Trench's test separating these two is that
through PEST the audience can return scientific knowledge to the researchers. BigFoot.ie wants
to begin that conversation with the audience. BigFoot.ie brought in a Science Communicator to
make, the app and website more user and conversationally friendly to bridge a communication
pathway for PEST in a Web 2.0 digital sphere.
METHODOLOGY
1. Website
A dynamic WordPress theme (Bold launch, item number 54002) was chosen upon a search for
WordPress themes for Science Journals and Blogs of 2016 sources (Barron 2016). A plugin
package to increase audience conversation was installed (Mailchimp for newsletters, Hello Bar for
Mailchimp signups, Pin It Button for infographic sharing, PubMed Posts for science publication
searching on-site). A Montserrat font was selected for the webpage being the most user-friendly

3. font for a blog according to surveys from Startablog.com (2016). Website colour schemes were
selected according to the data of Kissmetrics.com (Kim 2017) and chosen for being gender neutral;
these were blue and green colour packages. Branding has already been done with a blue and orange
colour scheme and will thus be kept for logos and like product.
2. Content Marketing Strategy
Creation of a whitepaper, how-to-video (tutorial guide about the product and app), workshops, and
blog content will be created over an 8-week period (Aug 13-Sept 30). During this timeline, the
researchers will organise podcasts, e-zine article submissions in science magazines, and build a
public presence for the website. Social media influencers (bloggers and page admins) will be
contacted on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and YouTube to drive audience awareness of the
webpage and app. All content publicly shared and distributed will be in a popularised format so as
not to exclude audience members. Feedback will be encouraged to drive audience conversation in
a digital space so that the audience can help the technology and engage with PEST science creation.
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