You can’t help but think about identity management when creating content online – It’s arguably the primary driver behind much of the content that’s created in the first place. After all every comment, blog entry, video, picture, or status update conveys some degree of information about the person who created it. Furthermore, the creator of the content is in many ways completely free to depart from reality in the way he provides information about himself. But even within the context of that content you get a wide variety of styles of identity management, ranging from cluttered and irresponsible to consistent, focused and calculated.
It has been said that when is comes to writing an essay, every paragraph, even every sentence must contribute to proving the main point. When reading an essay or listening to a speech it is quickly evident if the author lacks focus. Irrelevant points are brought in that distract from, and usually even detract from the main point. When I hear a speech like this I think to myself, “What’s the point?” A focused essay, on the other hand, is consistent and directed in its message. Evey sentence, every example, every bit of analysis can be traced back to the main point being proven. Examples that point in other directions are left out or reframed to support the overarching theme.
I’m starting to think of identity management in similar terms. I recently did a Google search for Mitch Joel, author of Six Pixels of Separation, and all I could think as I browsed the results was, “This guy really knows social media.” Even as I was learning about other endeavors he is engaged in, it all pointed to the same place.
I’m sure some of this is intentional, some of it natural. After all what would you expect to find on someone who is in fact extremely focused?
But the real lesson here is that someone who is trying to establish an identity needs to eliminate the clutter, eliminate the distractions, and focus the content they are building around the identity they are building.