— Daily Journal 043 —
One nice aspect of YouTube, or any other social media platform, is that you can pick whatever channel name you want for your public-facing account page. In most cases, your channel name can be different than your handle, and you can have the same channel name as another account. I don’t know why you would want to unless you’re using your name and it’s the same as someone else’s. However, your handle (@handle) has to be unique.
Privacy, Trust, Memory Factor
I’ve always been torn between using my real name versus using a “persona.” On the one hand, if you come up with a clever persona, it might be easier to remember, and you can “hide” behind it if you are concerned about your privacy (probably isn’t a bad idea). On the other hand (if you are not “too” worried about privacy), going with your name, or some version of your name, might be considered a little more transparent/trustworthy.
It’s About the Content
When it comes to trust, sure, your name might help, but at the end of the day, it’s about the content you are producing. Is the content itself trustworthy and worth watching/reading? One can be as transparent as they like, but if they miss the mark in their content on several occasions, the trust level drops a notch or two, despite being a “real person” using their “real name.”
Stephen B. Ruppe (@stephenbruppe – available everywhere)
Ultimately, I’ve decided to go with my name on social media (and YouTube) rather than the few personas I had in mind. At least, for now. I’m doing this mainly because I just got so tired of trying to decide. I knew I wanted complete transparency for my potential viewers. I was/am concerned about how that looks to most people. I.E., some viewers might ask, “Who’s this Stephen B. guy? Am I supposed to know him, or something? Why should I listen to him about ANYTHING?” I guess you could say I have a little bit of “imposter syndrome” growing inside.
Strive for Your Absolute Best Work
The main thing someone (I) could do is decide on a name/handle and consistently produce the best content they can. I often have to remind myself that when it comes to the content I enjoy engaging with or the companies I buy from, I couldn’t care less about their names…
Until Next Time,
Featured Image: Me posing for a “fisheye” selfie in Missouri 2012.
Note: These “Daily Journal Entries” are part of a mini blog within the main blog where I make every effort to publish a 250+ word post per day on top of the regular, longer posts. The idea is to create a daily habit of publishing written content. And also, to try and become a better overall writer… We’ll see…
