When it comes to the way I use the internet, I’ve always been conscious of the different aspects of my identity and how best to balance them.
For several years, my identity as a blogger has led the way across my social media and website. Although I use my real name online, the focus is on my blog name. That’s my website domain and all my social media handles.
But I’m not just a blogger.
There’s regular old Amy Lord, book lover and digital marketing professional by day, with a regular Facebook account and a LinkedIn profile. Then there’s the author side of my identity, which is becoming increasingly prominent but still exists under the Ten Penny Dreams side of my persona.
Years ago, when I started taking blogging seriously, I went through a period of asking myself the same questions.
I created a new Twitter account under the @tenpennydreams handle, determined to maintain my existing account while also building this new brand. But over time I let my previous account slide, as I just didn’t have enough content to maintain two profiles with a similar focus. For years, I regretted the decision to create a new account and wished I’d just changed my username, although at the time I made a conscious choice not to do that.
And I kept hold of that other account for years, only deleting it for good very recently.
But now I’m asking myself that same question: what should my online identity be?
As my book comes closer to being funded and the reality of building a career as an author sinks in, I wonder how much longer I should maintain the Ten Penny Dreams identity.
Should I switch back to being me, or should I create yet another splinter version of myself with a slightly different focus?
The truth is, there is no easy answer.
I’m proud of the content I’ve produced on this blog and enjoy writing as Ten Penny Dreams. But as an author, I have my own name and identity as a writer that potentially needs to come to the fore.
Over the next few months, I’m planning to create an author website, while maintaining this blog as a standalone site.
But social media is more difficult. Keeping it afloat can be hard enough at times, without giving myself twice the work. And starting from scratch is hard.
So I’ll think on it for a while and see which approach feels the most natural before I make a decision.
But I’d love to know, if you’ve been in a similar situation, what did you decide to do?