Okay...
Devil's advocate on the pen names though....
Let's say I want to build a niche around "guns" but I don't want anyone to know my real name. (...just call me 'ShotGun Fred') ;-) When it comes to social media, article marketing, responders, networking, etc....are you suggesting that I need to have another 'fake' account with all of these things?
Okay Chris - so now I understand your reticence with Facebook et all.
It sounds like you've fixed the photo issue...I do think you need something and an 'mascot'/avatar could work well. To give you an example of what I mean, take a look at a pal's FB page : www.facebook.com/fanpagesmadeeasy. However, with FB, you need a personal profile page before you can have a 'business' page and I think you have to use your real name on there...
What I personally think is more important is your personality and 'openness' coming through on the page. I always look at the 'About Us' part of a website and to be honest if there is nothing 'personal' there, I'm off. You wouldn't have to put something 'personal' like where you went to school and what size shoe you take, but I would want a peek into chris2/Hugh Jackman...BTW - I didn't think you were a guy, you write really well and where is chris1??
Doing videos - I think this would be great and you could easily get over the voice recognition. Davina (my sister) and I have now made 81 videos, no fancy gear just some screencast software. A year ago we had made zero videos, so if we can then you can too. Happy to help if/when you need it.
Caroline - the newbie who doesn't know how to properly use the mic function on Lynn's webinar
Hey Caroline - I have no idea where Chris1 is.. I just always favor even numbers for some reason. Chris was taken so I threw on the 2
I checked the link you gave, and yes, I'm toying around with ideas about avatars and "obscure photos" as Lynn mentioned. I feel like that issue will now be easily resolved thanks to the group here! (Thanks All!) I'm actually trying to figure out where I can get a real Zebra for about 15 minutes to shoot some photos of me (only the back of my head) with a live zebra to use on my site... could be interesting! Since I don't know any zebras personally, I'll probably end up using a photo or avatar-like zebra though.
Regarding identity - What is so maddening is that I'm not a complicated person and try very hard to be as real as I can in every aspect of my life, but where this and my mom's situation is concerned, I have no choice but to make all this way harder than it should be. I feel like I'm creating "drama" of something that should be stupidly simple (a name, for crying out loud). Unfortunately, it's necessary.
The good thing is, as I mentioned earlier, is that my mom and the people that know her (including my own relatives) don't have a clue about what my life has been for the last 12 years, or who I have become in that time. So I feel like I can share on my "about" page details about myself and my life that will not reveal my identity to these people at all. This will allow my site readers/visitors to know a bit about me in order to feel like I'm a real person, with real stories and a valuable message to share with them.
As for videos, what can you tell me about the voice recognition thing? I'm intrigued! Do you mean that there is software that I can use that would alter my voice (hopefully without sounding like it was altered)? Can a techno-idiot (like me) run the software?
Just so you know, I won't be doing videos anytime soon (I have no webcam and no other equipment to shoot videos with right now) but I do want to be heading in that direction by learning a bit about what I'll need to do.
Don't worry about the mic thing.. hey, I've never even used it so.. you're ahead of me!
Sandy - what you say about your mother sounds very familiar... interesting.
Re: Google... I google my real name regularly just to keep track on what's out there. Believe it or not.. if I'm on google anywhere I'm buried in the back pages somewhere because I've never found me (and I am SO happy about that!). There is an author (with many books published), however, who has my name (probably her real name, too) and she's all over the place so when people google for me they only find her.. so cool! I even got snail mail from Houghton-Mifflin (sp?) wanting to use a quote from her... was too funny.
Thanks Caroline! I think I need to pose that question to Ken and see if there are software options.
The problem with getting someone to do my voice is I wonder if someone else could convey in their voice the passion that I want it to. I know.. it's asking a lot. I also know I am way too picky about details. I'll get it figured out.
You know what's interesting...I have a VERY similar situation. Different niche...actually two! It's not that I don't want to be 'real'...it's just complicated if I'm real. This is the first time I've ran into someone actually discussing it! WooHoo! Thank you! Lots of great information on this thread! (...and btw, reading the 'about you' section made me want to engage in this conversation more....which is even more frustrating because that solidifies the whole don't remain anonymous thing to me. lol)
I gotta believe there are other people out there like that. Maybe it's just one niche...maybe it's 50. But I gotta believe there are FaceBook Pages, Twitter Accounts, Articles, Videos, etc. of "fake" people....providing good information and being otherwise honest about it.
Like you pointed out earlier to me...entering those niches creates some marketing PITA issues. But I haven't heard that it's frowned upon or wrong. Just gotta stay organized...and enjoy what you're doing. ;-)
Randall
(PS: ...about the Google thing. I can relate. lol When I first started out, I was always worried friends and family...or worse (my co-workers and boss!!) would Google me and say, "what are you doing with all these articles and that website?!?" LOL)
I tried using a pen name at one point for a couple of sites that weren't related to the IM niche, but it just didn't seem right to me. I find it hard to sign someone else's name to things I write. And besides, I may have missed a sale when someone called and asked for me (my pen name) and my husband told them they had the wrong number:-)
"About" pages/profiles - yes Randall, it would seem that people do want to know "you" and,toward that end, it seems obvious that you'd want to use your real name... HOWEVER... the deeper I look into this subject and the more feedback I receive I am becoming quite inclined to think the actual name you use is NOT important. Afterall, our names were randomly chosen by our parents, likely before we were even born, so they truly are no reflection of who we are what we believe or stand for, they're just a label (sad but true), so honestly... who cares?
What IS important IMHO is to create an about page that DOES reflect you, your life, your interests, your beliefs, etc., etc., as they relate to your site/blog/topic/whatever. I think if you are real there, the name doesn't matter. Plus, of course, your writing and subjects would need to be in harmony with the real you as well.
Laurie - LOL interesting story and a great point! I'm the only one who answers my phone so I've never faced that issue. As for signing someone else's name... try to look at it as NOT someone else's name... but YOURS... or the name of one the many different sides/parts of YOU. It does take a while to adapt and get comfortable, I agree, but often it's worth it in the long run, especially when you think about safety and security of yourself and loved ones in this shark/hacker infested internet world.
To anyone who may be interested, I did find out that you can use voice altering software and/or there is voice software that allows you to tweak the sound so that it alters your voice. So I guess I'll throw a bag over my head or sit in the dark and be able to actually talk to my audience via YouTube after all. Hmm.. interesting. Now if only I were half as articulate speaking as I am writing I'd be home free... as they say. (Sadly, even with a well-rehearsed script, I tend to stumble over my own words when speaking.)
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks