My Thoughts on Online Identity

I don't know exactly what it was that got me thinking on the subject, doesn't take a lot to get me started though, but I've been going over different ideas for online identity in my mind all day.

It today's times where a person's life can tentatively be lived out on the internet, there is a need to build not only an online presence but a persistent online identity as well. The two concepts straddle a very fine line but I do feel there are distinguishable features between them.

An online identity is a core, an absolute finite representation of one's self in the ever evolving world of the internet. It represents who you are, whom you associate with and what you do.

Whereas an online presence, while also encompassing aforementioned online identity, goes beyond who you are. An online presence is you and what you create, a sphere of new-media and social cliques that at one point would have been unattainable by most.

Essentially your identity is the guy backstage rehearsing his lines and your presence is both you and the character you are playing. (Bad metaphor?)

So far, I haven't found one really great resource for actually creating such an identity online, there are great ways to create a presence. You can blog, you can create YouTube videos, take photos, Tweets and Wall Posts on Facebook; but where does your identity actually reside online?

I've been working on my presence for years, I have thousands of blog posts buried in the depths of the internet, multiple thousands of Tweets from the past 2 years, photos and artwork scattered about the likes of Flickr, TwitPic and DeviantArt but where am I? I suppose with so many little pieces of me spewed about that if one were to gather it all up you could maybe define some sense of who I am but it just won't be quite the same.

I don't know if there will ever be a definite answer to such an issue as this, as little as an issue it may seem to be, right now. I do predict that online identity and the self will become a greater topic of discussion in the coming future. One day people may truly live online. For now, well, we'll just have to keep embarrassing ourselves, putting potential employment opportunities at risk, degrading our sense of self worth, living in pseudo-anonymity while exposing our secrets to the world, playing white-knight, trolling...etc...etc...etc

Wondrous Beauty of Life pt.2

Picking up where I left off in regards to what the new job will hold in store for me.

Thirdly, travel, the new job will involve lots and lots of travel around the greater Phoenix area which will work nicely with my sister blog AZ Rogue Travels.

Fourth, solitude, aside from all other things listed previously I will most likely enjoy this one above all. I will not only be making more money and travelling more often but I will be working on my own most of the time. I will be dealing with customers on a daily basis but as far as coworkers go, there will be little to no interaction. I work best on my own and this will prove to be the perfect job for me.

Moving on from the wonders of the new job I'd like to post a tidbit on some plans I have for Reality Grounded here. When things really start to settle down and I start to have more free time I am planning on starting a bi-monthly podcast. I don't really have many plans on what I will be doing with said 'cast but I'm thinking just a free-form whatever the hell I want sort of deal. It will be co-hosted by myself and my lovely wife-to-be.

I've been looking into necessary equipment to produce something of decent quality and have ultimately decided upon the purchase of a new Mac-mini to delegate strictly to my pursuit in creating an online media network.

Ultimately the plan is to work not only the blogs and podcast but also create more videos for the YouTube side of things, start a webcomic and more. It may seem a little all over the place but I really would love to take things further and maybe even create some sort of job/money for myself in the process.

That's all for now. I may post up something a little different later on tonight.

The Wondrous Beauty of Life

As I seem to write more often than not, I've been too busy with so much else going on write now that I haven't had much time to devote to actually writing. It really makes me sad, I need to practice as often as I can find which is very rare these days. With that out of the way though, there is some big news going on, I have recently signed on for a new job which equals a few major things for me.

Firstly, job security. I will no longer have much to worry about in regards to keeping my job. Assuming I am able to do it well (I guarantee I will) then there is not much to worry about there.

Secondly, financial security. This one should probably make top of the list but whatever, here goes, I will be making close to 3 times the amount I have been at my current place of employment which is fantastic! No longer will I need to worry about making rent/bills but I will even have a little extra cash on the side to invest in some new equipment to further this whole blog thing.

More to come later.

I Feel Like Writing Something

It's been a slow weekend. I've been battling pink eye and strep throat for the past four days now and have been in a world of pain. I didn't do much except for rest this weekend which gave me ample opportunity to kick back and do something I haven't had much time for recently, play some video games.

I was just about to write up a review of Beyond Good and Evil HD, which just released this past Wednesday in the Xbox Live Marketplace (you can download it here) but ultimately am not feeling up to it at the moment. I will say that it is a gem of a game, originally released years ago for the Playstation 2 and Gamecube, it's finally been given a fresh coat of paint and a new audience. It never sold well the first time around which is a damn shame, I had always meant to pick up a copy but never could afford too but now it's only 10 bucks and will probably decide the fate of the much needed sequel.

All that aside, I don't know much else to write about, I had planned on taking a small day trip out of the city this weekend to get some new pictures and a new post up over at AZ Rogue Travels, my currently 'a work in progress' travel blog but due to being ill that fell through. Things were pretty quiet around here this past weekend and it was really nice.

I'm pushing lots of tea and medicine, hopefully I can kick these viruses before much longer and get back out there on the road. Probably gonna put up a small post at AZ Rogue tonight too.

That's all for now, peace.

News and New Gear

Quick little post here about some new things I've got started and some new gear I got to help me out with it. First off, let's get right to the news. I'm currently developing a new blog, which you can find by clicking here, titled AZ Rogue's Travels. It is exactly what it sounds like, a travel blog dedicated simply to my home state of Arizona.

See I happen to take numerous little trips around Arizona when I'm sick of the city or I just need to clear my head and I always take loads of pictures and even sometimes video, so I decided why not actually put it to good use and try and get some recognition for it. So I now have this new blog setup and ready to go as soon as I can find some time to sneak off on a trip. (Hint: it should be pretty damn soon)

Secondly, I got some new gear in the mail on Friday from the good folks over at Timbuk2 whom I have previously spoken about. They hooked me up with two hundred dollars worth of stuff and I got to say it was a rather nice haul.

These bags came in the mail

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mcneildd/5483342518/in/set-72157626158956720/

Bi-Fold Wallet, a 2Way cellphone/camera carrier and an On the Go Toolshed bag

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mcneildd/5483343208/in/set-72157626158956720/

San Francisco bike route waterproof map, was actually part of the packaging, very cool

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mcneildd/5483343966/in/set-72157626158956720/

The main attraction, a customized Timbuk2 Swig backpack

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mcneildd/5482754371/in/set-72157626158956720/

Here's what I've got inside now

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mcneildd/5483349466/in/set-72157626158956720/

And then inside that other bag lay these goodies

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mcneildd/5482756519/in/set-72157626158956720/

And that's pretty much it for the haul, I got a some really nice stuff which I cannot wait to put to good use. The wallet is already getting it's fair share but the backpack I can't wait to take on a trip with me. It's extremely comfortable and carries the load perfectly, it's going to be great for taking out on photo-hike/writeups.

For now, that's all I have got, so see you around folks.

New Stuff Soon

So for awhile I had vacated this blog to start working more with WordPress and I'm still sort of undecided where I want to go with things.

Keep an eye out here for future posts though, I hadn't been on in awhile and I'm digging some of the new features I was seeing and I do love Google so I may as well use their product instead of a competitor.

Anyway, that's it for now, I need to sleep.

Oh How Time Flies

Life has become a rather hectic endeavor these past few weeks. For a rather long time work had been awfully slow which gave me more free-time throughout the day to read and write. Lately however, it's been anything but slow and I find myself having almost zero free time to focus on my interests.

I refuse to completely give up on my blog through Finnegans Wake but as it stands currently but am going to be putting it on a small hiatus. With the way things have been I just don't have time to try and read through the insanity that Joyce unleashed upon us close to a century ago.

As for my other ideas and projects I have currently planned, one in particular I intend to start focusing on in a big way. I've been mostly discouraged by my lack of proper equipment to really bring anything of value to the table but I need to get over this fear. There's more to quality than flashy lights and smooth silky voice, though honestly they don't really hurt, but I will do my absolute best to make do with what I currently have available.

Now on the same subject, Kickstarter, a community based funding project has intrigued me greatly. The only problem here is that again, as with my discouragement in equipment, I find fault in my own ideas. It should go without saying yet somehow flies over most people's heads anymore but if you never ask, you never receive. So I'm struggling with working up, within myself, the notion that my ideas are just as valuable as anyone else's.

This blog post here, written by Lizzy Bennett, Online Marketing Manager of Timbuk2, is what has most recently set off this series of explosions in my mind. Little explosions that my ideas truly are worthy of something and the reason why, is, I am that StrangeBum from Twitter, I am the one that sparked the little partnership between two of my favorite companies, Timbuk2 and Sanuk Footwear.

So that's where things stand for me currently. My life is filled with ideas that I truly think have some potential to get me to where I truly want to be. All it takes now is a little creative marketing on my behalf to get my name out there and also to just push through my insecurities and get something done.

Thank you for reading and with this, I am done for the night.