Year One

I started this blog a year ago with only a hazy idea of what I wanted to write about. A year later, I still have a hazy idea of what I write about.

I called this blog The Identity Question because I still hadn’t figured out what I wanted to be when I grow up, but the clock is ticking, the gray hair is showing and I realized that my interests are too broad to fit into a neat thematic bundle. Luckily, identity is loaded with potential.

I’ve written a lot about privacy and digital identity. Identity can refer to how we perceive ourselves. Privacy and digital identity management are increasingly important considerations in our lives as we integrate Internet technologies into more and more aspects of our daily lives. I’m fascinated by digital identity and the increasingly schizophrenic divide between transparency and privacy in digital culture. And I’m a very private person but I work in public relations and am a social media evangelist. Go figure.

I’ve also written about reputation and corporate brand identity. Identity can also refer to how we perceive others. Organizations (and now individuals) manage the way they are perceived. The visual design associated with a brand is one component of identity, but the customer experience often has an even greater impact on an organization’s reputation and brand. User experience is an under-appreciated aspect of corporate identity. The devil is in the details.

Identity refers to things as they are. This is me. These topics and more are of interest to me, so I write about them.

Irregularly.

As you can see from the chart below, my posting schedule is highly erratic. I attribute that to two things. I don’t like to write copycat posts. If someone has already written about a subject that interests me, I don’t post my own version unless I have something novel to contribute. I’ve also noticed that my posting volume is a barometer of my emotional state. I don’t want my blog to be overly negative, so I post less when my spirits are low.

My resolution for year two is to write more. I have many draft posts lying around –  I need to start posting everything I write. I’m also going to streamline the tools I use and focus my online presence. Those seem like reasonable goals for year two. After that, I’ll discover the meaning of life. But that can wait until next year.