If you are active in the world of social media, you owe it to yourself to create and maintain a social identity that you can use across multiple networks and multiple platforms. Whether you choose to use your name, a nickname, or something else, whatever you choose, be consistent. If your name is no longer available then when you use a nickname instead, be sure it is a name that you want to be associated with and a name you wouldnt mind wearing on a name badge at a future tweetup. The way you brand yourself matters.
A few weeks ago when I gave a talk at a Web 2.0 breakfast in New York, I was amazed when about half of the audience members who were active on both Facebook and twitter admitted in using different social identities on these networks, and I believe this is a mistake. It is hard enough to establish your name and build your presence on one network but to have to maintain multiple social identities creates more work for you and will make it harder for your friends to discover you as your presence on multiple social networks grow.
If you are someone who has adopted twitter into your social media lifestyle and you are someone who isnt known by the same name as your profile on LinkedIn or your profile on Facebook, why is that? And if you do have any regrets about not using the same names, why not take a moment and fix that today? Every day you wait is another day others wont make that connection
It is a social media world outside. If you want to get ahead, make it a point and use the same name every time you find yourself signing up for a new social network. As Social Media continues to consume your internet lifestyle, your internet presence can only grow if you made it easy for people to find YOU.
And I was wondering, how do YOU approach Social Media? Where you someone who decided to make the transition from your nickname to your real name? And if so, how did the “syncing of personalities” play out for you?
Tags: Social Media, Social Communications, Facebook, LinkedIn, twitter, Jeff Pulver
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