How to handle your online split personality?
Don’t imagine Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde type of split personality. It is not that sinister but then we do have multiple online avatars. Who doesn’t? That’s the beauty of online conversations and lives. The anonymity it offers is of truly stellar value. I have known people who maintain numerous avatars and gain vicarious pleasure from each individual interaction. Maybe not so vicarious – for some it is a business imperative.
Your online persona
The internet is indeed a fascinating world. I can play different roles , each with a distinct individual persona. For example, I have always had a desire to write fiction. But my work is technical which is popularly associated with dull people. Obviously there is a clash of identity. If I were to have a single blog which would deal both in creative fiction and hardcore technology, you can imagine the result – chaos. So what do I do? Simple .I create two different blogs with different personalities, interests, focus groups and so on. I even have different names for each of my avatars. The advantage is obvious. I can simply slip into the role of a creative writer and participate in online communities. At other times I can be a down to earth, technology geek, who is an expert in SEO.
As I have often emphasized, you must be clear about the message you want to convey. The rest will follow. When I am John Grope, I totally immerse myself in that personality. I create my Facebook account, emails, Twitter and everything else around my message- that of a creative fiction writer. Here I don’t even know Technocrati.com or Google analytics or whatever.
The next question which is bound to arise is about the extra effort required to manage several avatars online. I accept that it means some more work from your side but the rewards are worth the trouble. My creative writing world is unique and standalone. I can develop any theme I wish to and that’s the best part about it.
I am discussing this issue of assuming different avatars because as a consultant, I come across many people who are unable to reconcile their different roles. Though the solution is obvious it does not strike everyone immediately. Many of us struggle through this split personality by maintaining one multipurpose blog –with obvious results. Years of our work can come to naught if we try and accommodate our different persona in one single blog.
A blog can only be successful if 1.Message is clear 2. The audience is well defined 3. You have something interesting to say. Having one blog to tell all goes against this altogether. Even the Google ad campaign on your blog can be put out of gear with your topics vacillating from a wildly creative theme to a down to earth discussion on PPC. By the time you realize your mistake the damage is already done.
But the confusion created by a single blog is much worse when you consider you, the blogger. Which audience are you targeting? For example, if you are a part of amateur writers’ forum on Facebook, a portion of your blog would be Greek and Latin to this audience. Any comment posted by you would not merit the same response as would a blogger who is a writer and nothing else.
The conclusion is clear. Assume different avatars for each of your activities. For each of your avatar assume a unique name, which would reflect that persona. Be as wild as you can be. I have seen some very creative and meaningful names adopted by some online avatars. Your online name should evoke a direct, instantaneous and emotional response from readers. Once you have created a name, build a message around it. This message should percolate down to every forum this persona participates in. This would ensure that you maintain the purity of your avatar. This is the only way you can manage your online split personality.
An interesting offshoot of this is the development of microsites. Nowadays many large companies create microsites to deal with one specific part of their activities. For example, marketing campaign of specific product. Dealing with this issue from their main site would lead to dilution of the marketing effort, in the sense that it would be a part of the large website. By creating microsites, the management of the marketing campaign would be much easier and focused. In effect, a microsite deals with a specific aspect of the company persona. Similarly other microsites can deal with human resources , supply chain , feedback from customers and so on. All of them can link to the mother site in order to provide a unified online presence.
