Earlier this week I made a critical digital decision: I made the commitment to upgrade my Flickr account to Flickr Pro. Although I joke about simply giving into peer pressure, in the bigger picture, this is actually a watershed moment for me. Like it or not, I can always find something about myself on Google, which means others can too. Whether I’ve personally put myself out there or have been placed there by others, I’ve had a digital footprint for years. Which begs the question: in whose hands–and control– should I be? When I left home after high school, I took control of my life and my identity. As my real and digital worlds overlap, it’s become apparent that I need to take control of my digital identity as well. It’s not as hard as it sounds; I’ve been doing it subconsciously for several years now by slowly consolidating IM screen names, email accounts and social networking sites. I’ve been using the now relatively ubiquitous digital moniker robin2go so that my online community can easily find me. By any real measure, my online identity as robin2go and my real identity as Robin are so intertwined that I couldn’t separate them if I wanted to. And really, I no longer want to.
So now comes the conscious effort of taking control and creating a more professional, well rounded
digital existence. Posting on a regular basis to this blog and my other, less… ummm, reserved, blog. Respond to the many blogs and feeds I visit on a daily basis. Creating an actual site rather than leaving it as a parked url waiting for content. Uploading, organizing, and cataloging my digital images on Flickr. Even making my personal space at psu a more integrated site, rather than a bunch of individual templates loosely joined. I know this will take time, finding moments between the full time job at work and the full time job at home, but I’m a creative kind of gal. I’ve always worn many hats, and this is one for which I am willing to put in the effort and time.
Going pro. I’m ready for it. You, however, might want to take cover.
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