What Name Do You Use On Social Sites?

MySpace

Facebook

Twitter

Digg

Wherever you go, you start out by creating a username - one that usually will be seen by cyberspace. Then you start building your profile.

How much detail should you go into? What should you actually include?

My answer is, "use whatever name you’re comfortable with, create your persona, and use it for life (with updates along the way)".

For me, on every profile you find on me, I’ll either be LoriOsterberg or VisionOfSuccess. I’ve used both since the beginning, and continue to do so - depending on the type of site. I’m also leaning more towards my name because that will always be with me, no matter what business I move into. Therefore why not build up my persona with something that will never change?

What about security?

Sure we all need to think about security before we do things. You don’t want to change identity theft or other fraud issues unnecessarily. But if you’re building up your expertise, it’s important that everything links back to you.

Don’t give away private information easily. But your name is who you are - and depending upon your business, it’s also what you are promoting.

Your profile is all about your experience and who you are. It’s important for people to get to know you - whether you do business face to face, or through the Internet and half way around the world. Give only what you’re comfortable with, and what you’re willing to share with prospects. Things might include:

education
background
former positions - qualifications
interests
hobbies
awards
aspirations

Above all, don’t pretend to be someone else, or set up a false account. A recent case was settled by a British businessman and a former school friend. The former school friend created a Facebook group titled "Has Matthew Firsht lied to you?" and filled the profile with false claims. Matthew filed suit and won. A landmark case for social sites.

I’m sure we’ll be seeing a lot more of that.