Own Your Digital Identity
Yesterday I ended the post by making a point to shed your fear of change. Having put some thought into it, it turns out that I foster all kinds of fears myself. One fear I had for the longest time is that somebody might criticise me for the things I say and do publicly on the web. For safety reasons my standard procedure was to use fake names on my public profiles on blogs, streams or sports platforms. I started this blog back in 2010 with my real name, which was an exception to the general rule. The purpose of using my real name was mostly to occasionally tell some of my stories to friends and family and because I wanted people to be able to connect to my stories on a personal level. I am not sure this fear was justified or not, but it resulted in a set of measures for precaution.
In my view everybody who aspires or claims to be a leader needs to be visible and approachable to a certain degree. That is kind of the minimum requirement. I guess that explains a large part of the rise of so called 'influencers'. In my humble opinion even the word 'influencer' is underwhelming and downplays the role and impact of people that have a significant effect on society via the web. I do consider most of these people real leaders, because nobody can deny the fact that they do have an impact on people and on society as a whole. Even if you could argue that they don't really fit into the classical scheme of a leader I would argue that maybe we have to rethink our scheme of a modern leader. Hence I accept the challenge: I changed my most significant profiles to my real name. Now everybody can google my work, in my spare time, where I live and so on. I will admit, the imagination of random people having an easy way to find out private information about me and potentially about my loved ones with virtually no effort does give me the creeps. However I hold my humanistic upbringing, my conviction that people are generally good natured and my ubiquitous positivity against all assumptions of evil and fear. Sometimes you have to make a bold move, even if some people might think it is the stupidest thing to do.
Toughen Up and Tell Your Story
My latest strategy for putting my work -and with that pieces of my identity- on the line is without a doubt supercharged by the developments of the pandemic. My most favorite 'hobbies' have always been my professional engagements and the people I used to work with. Ever since the virtualization of my professional relationships I feel a tendency to dissolve regional boundaries and to create realms of likemindedness. Most of the time I can not go for a ride with friends that live nearby due to restrictions and difficulties in synchronizing schedules. However I can have a ride with some people on a virtual cycling platform on short notice pretty much 24/7. And it is online that I have lately made more acquaintances than in real life (IRL). If you can work and share your hobbies with people from all around the world easily, why not man up and be authentic by stepping up as yourself? I always had lots of doubt about putting my real name and my real occupation and passion out into the public. There's always a risk of being ridiculed or even worse: of being ignored. Honestly I don't care so much about any of that any more. The thing I've come to care a lot more about is not putting myself out at all and not allowing for any encounters of like minded people that share my enthusiasm for progress, my passion for productivity and my interests. As I see it you have to clear your head once in a while and open up to whoever might find an interest in whatever you do. Once you put your work out you are certainly going to be more authentic but also vulnerable. Whether you start a blog, a YouTube or a Twitch channel, a podcast, or something completely different that puts your name and a piece of your identity out there: I guarantee you it is going to be a unique experience. Dare to be vulnerable. Have the courage to be authentic.
Building up an honest digital identity still is a big thing to most people these days. At least to me it is. It still feels like a great leap of faith. However I try to take it on a daily basis and to slowly get accustomed to putting my work and my passion out step by step. This habit has a huge upside. I already learned a lot about myself and found new ways to appreciate those tiny coincidences and encounters along the way that I might not have noticed before. Especially in the past years when I traveled a lot I had the impression that the days literally flew by - sometimes when I filled my time sheets at the end of the work week I had troubles recollecting WHERE I had been, let alone what I had done. Though I spend less time with work overall (I don't travel on a weekly basis any more) my productivity has increased. But that is not the best part of the story. Ever since I started writing and taking notes my day time has significantly slowed down. I experience the day much more intensely and when I bring my kids to bed we usually ask each other: What was the best thing of your day? What did you not like so much? What did you not like at all? Most of the time we don't even make it past the first question, because we get lost in telling our version of today's best story. It's one of the best moments of my day, to hear my kids tell their story and to relive the moment with them, before kissing them good night.
Become a Digital Citizen
I hope someday fostering a digital identity will be as common as putting your name on your mailbox. So go ahead and try it: Embrace your journey to become a digital citizen. Put pen to paper - or in this case your fingers to the keyboard. Tell me and the rest of the world how it feels to share your story. How it feels to share your work or your passion. Tell the world about your unique experience and encourage people to follow your suite in order to discover their own unique story. Live life intensely. Grab the opportunity and squeeze it!
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