Online Identity

It's somewhat daunting to think about the fact that if I have a Facebook, MySpace and Blogger account I have an online identity. Although I am not freaked out by this because I grew up with the internet, I still have the comfort of knowing that I can somehow control my image and up the privacy settings if I need to. I think it is somewhat ironic that people create these online identities only to hide them from the world. What are we so afraid of? I am not sure, but I find myself in similar situations and know for a fact that many of my accounts are on private. An interesting article on Poynter got my juices flowing about the topic. A part that really hit home for me was a comment that NBC cameraman said in the article about how posting photos and videos of himself online was not just a hobby but a necessary step toward securing his future in journalism. I guess unless a journalist is ready to expose him or herself to their audience then they probably won't have as much credibility, and this is probably going to happen within the next couple of years. The bottom line... get off of private and start being accountable for yourself not just your work.