"Coming out" on the internet…

I have been thinking about this for a bit. For a long time actually.
So finally I’ve decided to “Come out” on the internet.
Ah No. I’m not gay. Heh-Heh! But it’s more coming out of the closet of anonymity, actually posting a real picture of your self, with your real name and identity on the internet. Basically what I mean is letting the on-line world know who the real Design Translator is.
Since the launch of the internet in the late 1990s, I have never felt comfortable putting my real identity online. Perhaps I’m old (not that old) fashion and paranoid, but identity thief IS a big issue, and not the only down side of putting your identity online. I supposed at the end of the day I still do consider myself a pretty low profile person.
Fast forward 5-8 years or so…
In the last year or two I have really been discovering the joys of a web community. I’ve even started a web forum dedicated to Industrial Design professionals. If you are interested here is the link
Not to mention the internet has finally become a real place to NETWORK. With prospective employers “Googling” you on the internet is a real and common thing.
So I like to ask is having or not having a presence in the internet a good thing or not? I have read online of people not getting jobs because their prospective employers found their blog and did not like what they found on it.
One of the big reasons why I finally decided to come out is credibility and accountability.
I don’t go around flaming people, so I should have nothing to hide. Furthermore I do stand behind in what I say, and by “coming out” reinforces that. I’m no cloak and dagger persona taking pot shots at everybody, something that people with internet “handles” tend to do.
Furthermore I recently have been ranting about how the people who scream the loudest in my Industrial Design professional field are not even qualified Industrial Designers to begin with. Thus this leads me to look at myself and ask “do I portray a credible internet persona”. I feel by “Coming out” it now does.
Furthermore, if I want to be a Design and Social Entrepreneur worth my salt, it makes good sense to attain a certain level of credibility as well.
Also I have discovered not everybody online is a spamming idiot. Since starting my blog I’ve met quite a few great people. The people I met at the Singapore Entrepreneur’s Blog, Scott from plaintxt.org and my gaming friends I met at 1up.com are the main factors that made me change my mind.
Oh here’s another surprise, which may be no surprise to some. One of my other passions other than industrial design and social-entrepreneurship is electronic gaming. More specifically gaming on the Nintendo DS, I hope to talk more on that in the future and why I love it so. I thus actually maintain a gaming blog at 1up.com as well as network with other like minded gamers there.
I’ve eventually discovered that a lot of people who visit my two blogs are really genuine, and I feel I can network with and get to know my visitors better if I start first by introducing myself.
So going forward I have even put myself online by registering my name as a .com and putting my resume and design portfolio there as well.
Another milestone in my life has been crossed, thanks to in no large part to my friends and visitors at designsojourn.com and 1up. A big Thank You to all who left great comments, and please continue to do so!
This post is similar to one I posted at my blog at 1up.com.