Identity separation and combination and whatever

[afuna]

I usually try to separate "afuna" from my real life identity, and it works, but I'm beginning to find it limiting. It's literally stopping me from doing a few things I want to do, either because I'm lazy, or I can't decide which identity to do things under.

I want to join a couple of local user groups, but I have been putting it off because I can't decide whether doing so is work (so RL identity) or play ("afuna") to use. I also want to follow along workmates on twitter and whatever, but no way am I using my current twitter account for that. (And once invites are less scarce, I want to get a wave invite under my RL name, just so that I can connect to workmates as well). And occasionally I wish that I had my code under my RL name, just because it would be nifty on my resume :-) But I don't want to create any more linkage than I already have, because a lot has managed to creep in over the years.

I've set up email accounts under my RL identity, but I have very little activity under them because I'm so busy doing other good stuff to maintain... that kinda hurts my resume I guess? I strongly suspect it does.

So. It's too much work to keep up separate identities, but it's too much risk to combine the two, and I'm back where I started (unable to act on a few of my interests until I decide which of the two I'd rather have them under).

Comments

[janinedog]

Yeah, same here. I have no problem with people knowing about my online identity (either here or on Facebook). If there's something I don't want the whole world to know about me, I protect it.

[juliet]

Ditto. I currently have my fic journal separate from this one, but I'm not going to take huge pains to maintain that separation. (In significant part it's just because most of the people who read my LJ/DW wouldn't be remotely interested in the fic.) It's a damn nuisance remembering to switch logins to comment on fannish communities, as well!

More generally, I concluded ages ago that I am too lazy to really maintain separation of identities, so I fairly deliberately make my LJ/DW quite linkable to me. That way I don't labour under any misapprehension re traceability :) (Having said that, the privacy settings of LJ/DW are v valuable for that reason.)

OOI, afuna, what are your concerns about the risk?

[afuna]

Hmmm, well I'd rather my parents not know some things about me >:-)

But in general, I don't actually have anything specific to hide, other than nebulous feelings of wariness. Also, I know that once the two are firmly linked, I can't unlink them, so I'm playing it safe until I've decided... well I'm not sure what I'm deciding on :-)

[afuna]

Hmm, yeah. I tend to leave most of my entries public (except my really emotional ones), and I haven't thought of using locking as a solution because most of the time my issue is a difference in context rather than privacy (I am happy letting random strangers know I do $sillystuff, less happy if it is an officeworker who knows me as the quiet girl in the office), but... I think that there are some things I'd be less conflicted about as locked, so I may start doing that more!