I’ve been signing up for an alarming amount of web apps lately. Nearly every site that I visit asks me to put down my name before it’ll let me in. And, sucker that I am, I tend to use my real name.

spreading thin

Where am I on the net?

  • AIM
  • This site
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter
  • Google mail, docs, groups, etc.
  • Blogspot
  • Facebook
  • Last.fm, Pandora
  • Slashdot
  • Plan 9 & gEDA mailing lists
  • deviantART
  • Parallax: mobile desk chair project

Quite a list. I’m making no claims here though: you may have more or less. The point is, though, that our every move on the web is captured. If I post to the Plan 9 mailing list my Google will list that post as my top search result. What if that post was a nasty reply? What if it was just plain stupid? That post is archived by hundreds of sites. It’s not getting lost.

being careful

Granted it’s easy to simply not care. So what if a Google search of my name turns up someone who trolls forums and pesters mailing lists? The easy answer: that it really doesn’t matter. How many people search for me online? How many would, if they saw those posts, even know me? Will these sites even be around ten years down the road?

And if you don’t use your real name then that answer might suffice. The anonymity of the internet makes it easy to be multiple people. But I’d like to focus on those that are trying to cultivate a presence. Just like the “real world” your name on the internet carries weight. It carries your image. And with how prominent the internet has become it’s beginning to carry a significant amount of your identity.

I believe that we take these online personas for granted. With every web app that gets released we have another opportunity to create yet another identity. Unlike our analog counterpart that forgets and is forgotten, the web identity you create is permanent. The internet, cruel mistress that she is, will never lose that terrifically embarrassing photo. Or video. Or post.