The Origin Story of ismh
What name do you use on the Internet? @ismh
Do you keep the same name everywhere? When possible. Because it’s short, I’m not always able to use it, and sometimes other people have beaten me to it.
Where did it come from? It’s my initials with an i in front because I used to be what some people would call an Apple fanboy. SMH is also Internet speak for “shaking my head” which I find funny.
What does it mean to you? I mean, it’s a riff on my name. Past that, I went with it because it was short.
Why did you choose it? It’s short and catchy.
Do you ever think of changing it? I do worry sometimes that the International Society of Men’s Health, which owns ismh.org will one day come knocking, but I have a backup Twitter handle already reserved if that comes up.
Why do you / don’t you use your real name? Since I make my online living in writing and podcasting, it’s important to use my real name, in my opinion. My day job has never had a problem with it, so it’s not a big deal if “real life” people see it.
What was your first internet screen name? Yeah, that’s too embarrassing to share.
What is your favorite name you’ve seen in your travels across the net? Hmmm. Dr. Drang’s is pretty good.
People can find my work all over the place, but the best place to see an index of all the crazy things I do is stephenhackett.com. I'm @ismh on Twitter.
