Comments on: RIP @factoryjoe

By: Identity and Identifiers — Will Norris

Identity and Identifiers — Will Norris — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 21:23:38 +0000

[...] require from the very beginning). While this is of course a personal decision, it’s one that Chris Messina recently undertook. Similarly, Tom Coates and Ben Metcalfe, two individuals who understand online [...]

By: Krista Sanders

Krista Sanders — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 15:45:29 +0000

The funny thing is, this is all I ever did until someone convinced me that I was being completely uninventive. I will admit I’m having a bit of fun with my pseudo-persona for now. But, you are absolutely correct in terms of the basic principals of findability as well as this being a growing trend. Maybe someday in the next few months, I’ll return to my roots.

By: ozten

ozten — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 15:01:18 +0000

Real Names don’t scale as well as nicknames. I am all for disclosing real names on profile pages (Austin King here), but John Doe or Anil Gupta should have a chance to have an easily recognizable internet presence.

By: velmont.net/

velmont.net/ — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 21:32:57 +0000

I’ve never quite hidden behind my nick (Velmont). Because I’ve always written Velmont – Odin Hørthe Omdal. My real name is long, and it has and ø in it, and sadly, many places don’t support non-ascii characters.

I’ve also got a problem with my name, as I think Hørthe is soo nice, but Omdal is usual. But Omdal is my fathers lastname, and many people know who I am when I use that, — so I can’t decide what to call myself in real life, in the internet world it’s easier having Velmont as the real name, and then just putting Odin Hørthe Omdal as my longer alternative ;]

By: Mark Brown

Mark Brown — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 04:35:06 +0000

Hey Chris. That’s a great post. I could actually feel the catharsis you experienced as you resolved the cognitive dissonance between the two and came to a new understanding

By: Chris Messina

Chris Messina — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 17:06:07 +0000

@ryan: If you go under your Twitter settings and change your username, everything is automatically migrated over. I didn’t involve Twitter folks at all in the change.

By: ryan

ryan — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 16:57:18 +0000

How did you get Twitter to migrate all your following and followers?

By: Jose Arocha

Jose Arocha — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 06:33:48 +0000

Chris,

Congratulations! Should I feel partially and happily responsible for inviting this move with my question about your personal brand/identity a couple of weeks ago? jejeje.

After giving it some thought, I am also moving my twitter ID from @jose to @josearocha for my english-speaking audience and launching http://www.josearocha.com tomorrow.

The SEO force be with you. Cheers!

By: Andy Beard

Andy Beard — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 05:59:46 +0000

One factor, it is 2 character longer now

It is a significant change, whereas I would have suggested cmessina or chrism if available

By: Todd Sieling

Todd Sieling — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 04:57:52 +0000

Welcome to the new identity, same as the old identity, since I’ll always think of you as both. But I’m also a fan of real names online, and I think it’s a necessary maturation for online identity to be treated as seriously as its effects are becoming.

If potential employers are googling your name and fishing through Facebook pictures like a journalist digging through someone’s trash, then they should be certain they have the right person. Without a solid identity layer, the web will continue to be a place where truth, fiction and simple misunderstanding around a real person can too easily blend and cause real harm.