creating a web identity

Since I've been thinking a lot about these issues lately, I wanted to share a link to Danah Boyd's very helpful article on controlling your public appearance on the 'net:

"Create a public Internet identity. I strongly recommend blogging, but even a homepage will do. Have a genuine all-accessible identity online that you're cool with grandma and your boss reading. Don't make it uber drab, but do provide context for who you are, what you do, what you're passionate about, etc. Think of it as a digital body and dress it up as if it were going into a job interview. Blogging is especially good because you can keep updating your identity overtime in a way that shows that you think. It's much easier to get a sense of someone through their commentary on public affairs or life around them than through a static page....

Carefully crafting and cautiously managing one's public image is acritical aspect of living in a mediated public world. Every advice column I've read warns people of the dangers of living online. I think that this is idiotic. (emphasis mine) People need to embrace the world we live in and learn to work within its framework. Don't panic about being public -embrace it and handle it with elegance."

Read more here.