Comments on: what’s in a name?

By: Mark Pollard

Mark Pollard — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 08:14:56 +0000

I couldn't possibly win a debate with someone who's studied cyber utopianism, so I resign. 14 pretend-real Twitter ‘people’ to follow Mark

By: 14 pretend-real Twitter ‘people’ to follow

14 pretend-real Twitter ‘people’ to follow — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 08:11:49 +0000

[...] I’ve had a few debates this week with inanimate objects and icons… in real life. One of them (@acatinatree) suggested that she had a more ‘real’ experience online by creating a fake avatar to hide behind. I thought this was quite interesting. She blogged about it. [...]

By: Lucas Ng

Lucas Ng — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 01:40:46 +0000

“The reason for choosing a nonsensical user name and avatar for most of the social networking sites I use was clear and defined in the beginning.”

Yep, agreed, especially in the early days of IRC & multiplayer gaming.

However, now that social media is mainstream, our online nicknames can be a hindrance IRL settings. I have always used the handle ‘shor’ online, particularly in gaming circles. But in a professional setting, it did get awkward to introduce myself as ‘shor’ to a prospective employer, client or peer that doesn’t understand that back in the good ol’ days that’s how people named themselves.

That being said, a unique and memorable username like acatinatree, graywolf or randfish (why do we SEOs love our animals?) can also help you standout from the crowd, so… each to their own!

By: Damana

Damana — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 01:11:02 +0000

Be whoever you want to be and call yourself anything you want. It’s part of who you are. I adore the cat! May she never change.