Balancing Online Identities

During the month of August, I disappeared from the blogosphere to another world where I felt very much at home as I do with blogging.  With the brilliant mind of Ashley of Writing to Reach You, we conjured up a small army of bloggers who became vloggers for a month.  The project, as previously mentioned, was called VEDA – Vlog Every Day in August.

VEDA was no easy feat because making videos takes twice, if not more time than blogging.  In addition, most VEDA participants either never used the video medium before or knew how to edit.  That being said, VEDA took over for most of us and blogging was put on the back burner.  It wasn’t that we wanted to leave blogging behind, because I sure didn’t.  However, there is only so much time in a day to do everything Internet related.

I don’t regret doing VEDA.  By saying that I loved it would be a complete understatement.  Unfortunately, VEDA took over my Internet life.

I love the Internet, in the most endearing and unloserlike way possible.  The problem is that I’m all over the Internet.  You can find me blogging, on YouTube, Twitter, ChicagoNOW, Tumblr, Dailybooth, Facebook and 20sb to name a few.  I love each place in it’s own rite, but I have issues properly balancing everything out and giving each place their deserved attention.

Four big places where I define my online identity are this blog, my YouTube channel, my ChicagoNOW blog and Twitter.  I have yet to successfully balance my commitment to each site.  During VEDA, the blog was abandoned.  When I focus on blogging, my YouTube channel collects dust.  As for ChicagoNOW, I’m in the process of building a unique identity for it.  I don’t know what it is yet or what it will become, but with my commitment to this blog and YouTube, ChicagoNOW is considered as the poor forgotten adopted child of mine.  If anything, Twitter is a constant.  Besides being the ideal way to communicate via the Internet, it is my way to connect the 3 other identities together.  It’s an anchor for my 3 poorly constructed boats.

I’m a blogger.  I’m a YouTuber.  I’m a Chicagoan.  Twitter connects me to the world and the world is completely confused of my multiple identities.

Alone, each online profile can stand upon it’s own.  I’m a blogger.  You faithful blog readers know that very well.  I don’t write about my weekends but I like to tell stories and bring you on board.  I’m a Youtuber.  My subscribers know that I make videos because I enjoy making them, even if they’re anecdotes of my life.  As a proud Chicagoan, my ChicagoNOW identity is in crisis and still unknown.  How should I portray myself there?  A question I ask myself every day.  And finally, I’m a Twitter addict.  I use it connect with the world as I bridge my multiple online personae into what Phampants is all about.

What is Phampants?  That is still a good question.  However, I stand by the fact that I’m a nobody, but I hope to inspire somebody.

Perhaps it is so appropriate that my online personae are in constant flux.  I disappear for a period of time and people forget who I am.  They realize that I am a nobody.  I’m fine with that.  But I do hope that when I come back, or in ChicagoNOW’s case decide what I want to be, I hope to inspire somebody.

I may not be able to balance all my online identities.  But there’s one thing that I’ll always succeed at is being myself.

So to you, my lovely readers, I miss you.  And hey, let’s inspire each other together.

Being Recognized

Last night I had the joy of having dinner with my friend Karen, her cousin and another friend.  For those of you unfamiliar with Karen, she has faithfully appeared in my videos, time and time again, being my comic foil.  But most of you know her as the girl who punches me.

Now I’ve hung out with Karen on many occasions, but what made last night stand out was that I was asked to join her at the request of her cousin.  Her cousin happens to be in town and wanted to grab beer and mussels at one of my favorite bars in Chicago, the Hop Leaf.  She obviously wanted to hang out with Karen, but she also wanted to meet me.

I was confused at this request when Karen asked me to join them.  To which, Karen responded, “My cousin watches your videos.  She wants to meet you.”

This isn’t the first time that this has happened.  Not that I am against meeting people who watches, reads and enjoys my outtakes on life, because I whole heartedly want to meet people who finds what I do amusing.  If anything, I want to say thank you for watching, reading and laughing at my work.  I don’t think I’m as hilarious as people say I am, but if I can put a smile on your face, then of course I know that I have brightened your day.

It’s been about two years since I was first recognized in public for what I’ve done on the Internet.  At that point, I didn’t realize people would watch/read my stuff because I was just doing it for myself, so it was quite the awkward encounter. It’s still awkward to this day because even now when I know I have an audience, I still don’t intend for people to adore what I do.

What I do on the Internet, whether it’s blogging or making YouTube videos, I do it for myself first.  For anyone else who watches, reads and enjoys my antics, that’s only an after thought.  The Internet is a playground of idea and creativity for me; a blank canvas for me to create a work of art.  If I’m not proud of it, I wouldn’t post it.  And yet, the most underlining thing about the Internet is my desire to share a part of me with you.

The “you” are my readers, my subscribers or even random strangers.  I put myself out there not because I’m afraid of being forgotten when I am gone.  I do it because there’s a story to be told.  Every person has a story and this one is mine.

Being recognized on the streets because of my story makes me realized that perhaps my story has done some good in other people’s lives.  As my blog byline says, “I’m a nobody, but I hope to inspire somebody.”  I’m still a nobody.  And though people may disagree with this, I still feel like I have yet to inspire a single person.  But I know that as I continue to tell my story, perhaps one day someone would be inspired to share theirs.

Until then, when people come up to me telling me that they enjoy what I do, I smile and be thankful.  For I know that these people laugh, enjoy, are appreciative and inspired by my take on life.  It’s because of them that they’re inspiring me to keep on telling my story.

So to these people, thank you.  Thank you for inspiring me.

Le Petit Seminaire

This is for my classmates, my colleagues, my students and fellow alumni.

Fun Fridays in August #1

Seeing how bloggers prefer words, I shall type some words here before posting the videos for the week from VEDA (Vlog Every Day in August).

Hey, it’s Friday, so let’s have some fun.  I would HIGHLY suggest to watch “Talking to Girls” and “Playground Games” if you don’t want to watch all of them.  If you like what you see, you should subscribe!

Until next time.  =)

VEDA Day 1 – Nicknames

VEDA Day 2 – Mornings

VEDA Day 3 – Talking to Girls

VEDA Day 4 – If the Internet was Literal

VEDA Day 5 – Pet Peeves

VEDA Day 6 – Playground Games

Chronicles of a Half Marathon: Rock ‘n’ Roll Chicago 2010

And now for the 7th installment of the Chronicles of a Half Marathon.  You know you want to be in the next one!