Being Myself On The Internet
I live out in the open Internet. My site is a list of links to all my accounts across various social media outlets. This has a lot to do with principals (but also a little to do with branding).
A couple of times before this has been unsettling. I once crossed the border from Canada to the US and because of a missing stamp in my passport, I was pulled aside and a quick Google search revealed a couple of things to the questioner. Unsettling, but ultimately, it even proved helpful!
Monday, I was slapped with what living so openly can mean.
That morning - European time - one of the organizers at an event that happened to have the same name as a project I was building caught word of what I was doing. When I woke up here in Oregon, it was to a tirade of accusatory tweets, threatening e-mails, friends being harassed for simply being interested in my project, and people I had been working with on the project trying to get a hold of me. My LinkedIn account, my Twitter account, my e-mail, past projects, blogs, all were found, and all were attacked.
One of my best friends received similar emails to me, got questioned on their blog, and even got called. Living so openly meant that we were right there to be contacted in a way we hadn't really imagined someone would do.
The accusations were hurtful. Claims that I stole other people's ideas - something I have never done purposefully or malignantly - for my own, somehow mischievous, designs were flung at me publicly and privately. On top of that, people I had worked with in the past (and still consider close friends) were contacted and told about my roguish nature.
These things hurt because ideas are what I keep myself busy with. I encourage problem-finding and solution-making. People need to think creatively, they need to find their pains, and most importantly, they need to fix them.
I try to live by the principles I built into Idea Otter. When someone aggressively claims that the app I am putting so much effort into is a way to steal ideas from people, that's upsetting, even if I know it not to be true.
In parallel, a couple of days ago, the dark side of anonymity on the Internet was driven home. My story paled in comparison to what others went through but it highlighted a nasty truth about what being anonymous on the Internet means. A good friend said as a reaction: If you're saying things that you need an anonymous account for, they're probably not worth saying.
Using your own name everywhere is about accountability, saying things you're happy, proud, and excited about saying. It's about having principles, and telling people what you honestly think. Unfortunately, it means people can harass you with that information, but if you're convinced of what you're doing - and you're not out to steal, harm, or cheat - things will sort themselves out.
