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My Identity Crisis: Why can’t I be more than one thing on the web?

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1–10 of 36 posts

Re: My Identity Crisis: Why can’t I be more than one thing on the web?

#2
I'm looking forward to decentralised microblogging, since then we can publish multiple feeds (RSS would seem ideal) from the same identity (domain), e.g. $ dig andy.tel naptr|grep rss - there'd also be a record to delegate a "hub" for my followers to subscribe to.

Re: My Identity Crisis: Why can’t I be more than one thing on the web?

#3
You worry about annoying your followers by talking about the wrong topic. Sounds like preaching to the choir.

Flip the coin.

You can be more interesting by providing information or point of view that isn't expected. Embrace your broadness and don't siphon yourself off into well defined silos.

Re: My Identity Crisis: Why can’t I be more than one thing on the web?

#4
Wait, is he really trying to suggest that in real life, he talks to everyone the same way? That as a CEO he talks to clients the same way he talks to his drinking buddies? (Assuming he has them.)

Why would the internet be any different? If you want to mass communicate, you're going to have to sort your people into categories and communicate with them according to that.

Because that's what it comes down to. Mass communication.

Re: My Identity Crisis: Why can’t I be more than one thing on the web?

#5
I think I've found a healthy balance. I don't use twitter for generally personal stuff (except for the occasional twitter commiserating with other parents) and I don't use Facebook for any technical stuff.

My blog is mostly technical and the only place I'm even linked to the company I work for is LinkedIn.

I don't HIDE that fact that the two "personas" are connected but I try to keep a separation in place. My family and most of my friends don't care about the technical stuff and most of the people in the various OSS communities could give two shits about my kids pooping in the potty.

Shit, I've even got two about.me profiles.

Re: My Identity Crisis: Why can’t I be more than one thing on the web?

#6
I am currently working on shaping my identity on the web and I feel exactly the same way. I think I'm going to use Facebook for personal use (family & friends) and twitter/blog for technical. If I happen to make a friend on the technical side, I can request them as a friend on Facebook and open them up to the rest of my life.

Re: My Identity Crisis: Why can’t I be more than one thing on the web?

#7

Wait, is he really trying to suggest that in real life, he talks to everyone the same way? That as a CEO he talks to clients the same way he talks to his drinking buddies? (Assuming he has them.) Why would the internet be any different? If you want to mass communicate, you're going to have to sort your people into categories and communicate with them according to that. Because that's what it comes down to. Mass commu…

Because Twitter is the real-life equivalent of getting everyone you know in a room and shouting things at all of them.

Re: My Identity Crisis: Why can’t I be more than one thing on the web?

#8

Wait, is he really trying to suggest that in real life, he talks to everyone the same way? That as a CEO he talks to clients the same way he talks to his drinking buddies? (Assuming he has them.) Why would the internet be any different? If you want to mass communicate, you're going to have to sort your people into categories and communicate with them according to that. Because that's what it comes down to. Mass commu…

No, he's saying the opposite. He's pointing out that most online communications channels haven't solved the problem of filtering your output to specific audiences as you deem appropriate. For any single service, you're generally either communicating one-to-one or one-to-everybody, with no options inbetween.

This is a problem that is more easily managed in "real life" by the obvious limitations of presence.

Re: My Identity Crisis: Why can’t I be more than one thing on the web?

#10
I have similar problems, but they are worse. Add to the mix suffered by the author working and having friends in a couple of countries/languages and you get my scenario.

I tried with one twitter account per language and doing groups in facebook, but it was too time consuming. Now I mix both languages with care and some won't like it, but I can't go further.

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