To be (named) or not to be (named)
Posted by Jenny on 10/30/08 in Daily, Social Media
Hello. My name is Jenny Frazier. You can find me “all over the internet”. A good start is my main page JennyFrazier.com.
My full name is not a mystery – I mean it IS (one of) my URLs – but it wasn’t always that way.
I started blogging in 2001 (over in Diaryland (yikes!). I purchased the domain “AllEyesOnJenny.com” and set up this blog in 2004. In the Diaryland blog and even in this one in the beginning, I referred to myself as “Jenny”. By the end of 2004, I ever so boldly added an “F.” to the end of my name in a disclaimer on the bottom of my site.
Then I got into Myspace, and Flickr. I started going to networking events and booking design business and photoshoots. At some point during 2005 I made the leap to adding the full “Frazier” to my name. I had reached a point where I was meeting so many new people and promoting local events I organized or took part in that were all done in my full name (not to mention my picture is plastered all over this and all my other sites) it just seemed silly to maintain a “Jenny F.” here. So everywhere you look, you now see me sporting the “Jenny Frazier” loud and proud.
My initial concern wasn’t completely ridiculous – back in late 2005 I was actually denied a job because of this blog. I’ve told this story here before, but just to refresh your memory and for the newcomers, the prospective employer I had interviewed with called me back for two interviews. A week later I got a call – a call that sounded positive, to start. She told me that “out of everyone they interviewed for the position, the combination of my portfolio and my interview proved to her that I was by far the best candidate for the job, but….”
Are you ready for the “but”? It’s a good one …
“But, we googled your name and found your blog. It’s not what you write about, it was your “About Me” where you say that you bite your fingernails and you like Britney Spears. To be honest, that’s not the image (insert firm name) would like to project.”
Well to be honest, a firm who couldn’t accept who I was is not a firm I wanted to be working for.
As jaw dropping as that experience was, it was also eye opening for me. By being honest about my name and who I was online, people were either going to accept me or they weren’t. “People” ranging anywhere from potential employers, to potential dates, to friends and family members (Hi Dad!).
My friends and family know who I am – I really am no different on this site than I am in real life. Luckily for me, I got my current full-time and many, many freelance jobs BECAUSE of my site(s). Similarly, I have had the opportunity to meet so many incredible new people and contacts as a direct result of this site, or the types of work I do and promote here.
Honestly, I’ve mostly ran into weird circumstances with dating when it comes to the site (I was not asked on a second date by someone I liked because of my site. True story.). This mostly stems from the fact that OF COURSE you’re going to Google who ever you are going to go out with. And these guys are going to know A LOT more about me than I could ever know about them. I’m fine with that – but sometimes they aren’t.
So that leads me to my questions of the day:
Who are you online?
Do you use your whole name? Your first name? A fake name? No name?
Whatever name (or lack there of) you use, why?
How concerned are you about your online image? Did you ever use your real name or do you think you would in the future?
And finally,
What kinds of positive or negative experiences have you had from using whatever name you choose?
Has the decision to use the name you choose impacted your life offline?
Please contribute your thoughts and concerns in the comments section. I’m looking forward to this discussion.

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