Today I will be talking about Mike. Mike is my boyfriend and my business partner, he’s someone who has shared a large social media presence with me.
4 months ago, Mike and I started a social media platform called HANDOFF. We create short sharable content that highlights the best parts about NYC. I felt that he was an ideal person to interview because of his insight on using an account using his name, as well as being a different personality on Twitter.
C: “What social media platform do you use now, and what social media platform did you use in the past?”
M: “I use Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat regularly. Between using my personal account, and running an account that is not me, I find that there is just a huge variety of audiences out there. Under my personal account, I post what I want and I don’t have to worry about it. Under HANDOFF, I must specifically curate posts and strategically plan when I will be posting them. You gain a different perspective on social media presence, it’s almost like a science.”
C: Do you use your real name? Have you ever used aliases or created a fake account? Why?
M: “On my personal account I use my real name, just because that is what I would instinctually do, honestly. I made all of my social media accounts under my real name, because I want to create a following under my own name, under my own personality. The only time I have ever made an account not in my name was for creative endeavors, such as a youtube channel, businesses etc. I don’t see the need to make an alias account besides handoff because I wanted it to be a different entity than myself.”
C: What different personas do you construct in each of these platforms and how do they relate to aspects of your experiences in life?
M: “My twitter and snapchat are the most direct representations of who I am. On twitter I can record all of my thoughts without censor, and on Snapchat I can say anything I want. On Instagram I am more so just capturing pictures, something I like to do in my spare time, but it isn’t something that really portrays my life. Facebook I never post, it’s just something I use as an outlet to stay in the know.
On HANDOFF, I have a specially curated and strategized schedule where I post things that I wouldn’t necessarily be interested in. I post things that I feel the majority would like, and I post those things during times where I know there will be the most interaction.”
C: Do the digital personas you construct help you cope with the problems you face or does it create new problems? In what ways?
M: “I’m not necessarily sure what problems it would make me face, there aren’t any real problems on my personal account that I am trying to cope with. This only creates a problem on our business account when we need new content to post daily. This has created an urgency in order to stay relevant.”
This interview has really brought me to a point that I saw in Turkle’s article. “The Internet is another element of the computer culture that has contributed to thinking about identity as multiplicity. On it, people are able to build a self by cycling through many selves (pg.178).” Speaking from Mike’s responses in my own since we both share these accounts, we are both entirely different entities on our personal accounts, as opposed to how we act on our HANDOFF business accounts. On his own personal accounts, he is generally himself without having to censor his own content. On our other account, we have crafted a different personality for this account to hold, so it would be more conducive for the image of the business.
This also reminds me of a point in chapter 5, when Antique states “In the distinctive out-of-body experience of online gaming, the body once again takes centre stage in a symbolic form” (pg. 73). While this isn’t gaming, you are still immersing yourself into a digital world in which your out of body personality is living a life that most people don’t even understand beyond face value. They see your posts, tweets, pictures etc. and they don’t even know who you are or what you are actually even doing, they don’t know the behind the scenes of this.
Do you think it’s problematic for people to have different personalities online that differ from their own?
What advantages do you think there is for hiding your identity from the internet?
Really enjoyed this article and the connection to the business/personal divide that comes with running multiple accounts. I think interviewing someone who personally experiences this was a smart move, as it gives the reader insight into the sometimes tricky nature of separating self when doing social for someone other than your personal brand.
I don’t think it’s problematic for people to have online personalities other than their own when it is for a business or brand that they are a part of (as is the case with this interview). I think multiple accounts can be problematic when people are using them to create a fake persona or to hide things from family, friends, or a significant other.
Hiding one’s identity on the Internet can be good for employment and academic purposes, but very harmful for personal purposes. It can give off a lack of confidence and approachability.
I don’t think having a different personality online compared to your own in real life persona is problematic because it seems to be therapeutic and gives sense of escaping from your real life.
And one main advantage of online persona would be having a sense of identity protection where you can voice your own opinion without being judged on by someone.
First off, I enjoyed reading your post, it was very easy to relate because the way I use Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Snapchat are very similar to the way Mike uses it as well. I like to post statuses, current moods, thoughts on current events on Twitter, personal pictures on Instagram, and whatever I like on Snapchat. I rarely post on Facebook too, I just use it to keep me updated. Secondly, I think having a second persona online differing from your real persona is tough to balance out because once you’re online, it’s like you’re a whole new person and you have to be careful what you say and how you present yourself to the online community. In addition, judgment from others might stress you out because they know you’re not who you appear to be.