How it started
I have 2 separate Twitter accounts, one for personal blather (@swingdag) and one for work (@chenglau).
@swingdag started as a dance account, an add-on to this blog, but it soon took over. It’s now the fun (and locked) account for blithe randomness about jazz, motorcycling, dance and phallic baked goods, mixed in with links and chatting with other tweeps.
@chenglau is the public ‘business time’ account. My online business card, of sorts. The business socks help, too *wriggles argyle-covered toes*.
Why have multiple accounts?
Space for my multiple identities
@swingdag is where I can virtually kick off my shoes and assume questionable positions amid multiple entendres. I wouldn’t do that in my workplace or with family
@chenglau is for what I’m confident about and don’t mind everyone knowing about. It reflects the side of me that is logical, organised (barely) and has a purpose.
Reflects the way my brain organises things
My brain separates work from fun, an overflow from an upbringing where learning was not creative.
It’s difficult to break the pattern, but I’m slowly finding ways to bring innovation back into my work headspace. Work is still not ‘fun’, but it’s certainly more interesting.
Keeping focused
I have way too many interests and need to actively tell myself to prioritise.
So when only the @chenglau window is open in Twhirl, all I allow myself to tweet about is web dev, new media, usability, design and writing links and musings. @swingdag is a sometimes treat.
False sense of privacy and control
I’d like to think that keeping a locked account means that I can filter out people that I don’t want in my life. False notion, of course. But really, it stems from self-consciousness.
Social networking
It’s my way of offering people a choice between whimsical Cheng and professional Cheng. The two worlds don’t often mix. Thus people I know through work don’t have to wade through pics of phallic cookies, links to jazz music or live tweets from swing dance events. If they want both, well, they can follow both.
Fun vs Serious
Basic Cultural Studies 101. The public realm vs. the private realm, where the public is about structure and objectives. The private is mere frippery with no particular aim.
I’m self-conscious about what I call fun, and at low points, I see my ‘fun’ as useless.
As I discussed with Xavier today, each part of your life pays great dividends to the others. It took me till I was 26 to understand that it’s ok to learn things that I may never make a profit from, like dance… that it was an investment towards my physical and mental wellbeing. I don’t know how I’d stay sane without cooking, writing or dancing.
But until I can profit from my hobbies, the dichotomy shall remain.
Conclusion
Like the way a website’s info architecture often reflects structure and politics within an organisation, my multiple accounts reflect the way my brain runs, in all its flaws and furrows.
I still have another 2 or 3 Twitter accounts. The beauty of social media is how it facilitates connections between like-minded folk, regardless of niche. There’s a dot-com, Twitter account and Facebook page for everything. You’ll find someone who thinks the way you do.
But for someone who is not a salesperson and doesn’t really want to have a personal brand, I’m not yet ready for the scrutiny. Fear tells me that I can’t afford to put out anything that may come back from its cached grave. A denial that humans change over time, perhaps.
Till then, this will have to do.
