It's 12:15am. I should be in bed. I should be going to sleep. I have a touch of insomnia. So I'm posting a blog entry instead. By the time I am finished with this rambling post I will be so tired I will go right to sleep. I hope I will be in a decent mental condition for work tomorrow! I hope...
What is my theme for this post besides insomnia? It is supposed to bump my last post. My last guilt inducing post that caused five people to confess to me to performing Google searches on my name (plus the name of my employer). Four of the five were people I know and one was a random guy who admitted he was searching me out for dirt on my company but wondered why that bothered me. It didn't bother me so much as aroused my curiosity.
Tonight my curiosity is moved by the fact that I have a lot of public persona's. The issue is where do they meet? I have one persona while in the office. Another with my friends. Yet another with my family and children. I have a different persona when I interact with members of my Masonic fraternity. And finally, and probably the whole point I am getting at, is I have a different online persona for every website I visit.
In some contexts I am very careful about revealing too much about myself while, in others I scream and shout like a madman. (Case in point, I noticed that in a message I posted on one forum I stated that "my religious beliefs are entirely personal" while on another I quote my New Age beliefs with great strength and authority.)
Where do all of these different persona's meet?
This concept of different versions, or perceptions, of my self started with my Wikipedia entry. About a year ago somebody who is a fan of submarine games, apparently, made a Wikipedia entry about me without my knowledge. No big deal, I thought it was kind of strange since I don't think I merit a Wikipedia entry. Then, shortly afterwards, some people who don't like me found out I had a Wikipedia entry and started smearing graffiti all over it. This was a little bit disconcerting. Then, some guys came to my defense and started fighting Wikipedia war. Which has since more or less settled, though it could flare up at any time.
Now my Wiki entry not only mentions that I wrote a couple of computer games but also lists details about my personal religious beliefs. How strange is that?
It gets stranger... A couple of years ago I started a religious discussion forum. Well, that thing has become an entity unto its own. Meanwhile, I write random entries into my weblog which create all manner of crazy cross links. Now I drag in people who are casually searching on all manner of topics.
The more I post, the more I feed a giant internet search engine beast that spins ever more threads of connections.
Which leads to the question which John Ratcliff exists on the Internet? The one on this Blog that posts pictures of his vacation and doesn't talk about his job? Or, the one who posts polite questions of Freemason forums? Or the one who prattles on about religious twaddle on various forums? Or, the one who takes to task fanatics on conspiracy websites?
Can they all co-exist?
Should they?
I'm not sure. But, I don't know if I can hide from the many versions of me. The many slices of my personality I spread on the internet like so much butter on so much bread.
So, in the interest of full disclosure. Here are places you might find me saying shit I probably shouldn't be saying in public.
My embarassing Wikipedia article.
My strange and bizarre religious discussion website.
A conservative Freemason Forum I post on occasionaly.
A liberal Freemason Forum I post on occasionaly.
An anti-Freemason message forum I *rant* on somtimes. (Some pop-ups but not too many)
A 'members only' Freemason website I frequent hosted by Right Worshipful Brother Chris Hodapp (author of 'Freemasonry for Dummies). I think you have to be a Freemason to register.
Maybe you see a theme here, but the point is that I don't present the same persona in all places at all times.
Well, It's 12:30 and I am finally tired and may fall asleep. I don't think there was ultimately any point to this post other than bumping my last one. Keyword search on me all you want. You will never find the 'real' me anywhere because I don't know who that guy is myself.
What is my theme for this post besides insomnia? It is supposed to bump my last post. My last guilt inducing post that caused five people to confess to me to performing Google searches on my name (plus the name of my employer). Four of the five were people I know and one was a random guy who admitted he was searching me out for dirt on my company but wondered why that bothered me. It didn't bother me so much as aroused my curiosity.
Tonight my curiosity is moved by the fact that I have a lot of public persona's. The issue is where do they meet? I have one persona while in the office. Another with my friends. Yet another with my family and children. I have a different persona when I interact with members of my Masonic fraternity. And finally, and probably the whole point I am getting at, is I have a different online persona for every website I visit.
In some contexts I am very careful about revealing too much about myself while, in others I scream and shout like a madman. (Case in point, I noticed that in a message I posted on one forum I stated that "my religious beliefs are entirely personal" while on another I quote my New Age beliefs with great strength and authority.)
Where do all of these different persona's meet?
This concept of different versions, or perceptions, of my self started with my Wikipedia entry. About a year ago somebody who is a fan of submarine games, apparently, made a Wikipedia entry about me without my knowledge. No big deal, I thought it was kind of strange since I don't think I merit a Wikipedia entry. Then, shortly afterwards, some people who don't like me found out I had a Wikipedia entry and started smearing graffiti all over it. This was a little bit disconcerting. Then, some guys came to my defense and started fighting Wikipedia war. Which has since more or less settled, though it could flare up at any time.
Now my Wiki entry not only mentions that I wrote a couple of computer games but also lists details about my personal religious beliefs. How strange is that?
It gets stranger... A couple of years ago I started a religious discussion forum. Well, that thing has become an entity unto its own. Meanwhile, I write random entries into my weblog which create all manner of crazy cross links. Now I drag in people who are casually searching on all manner of topics.
The more I post, the more I feed a giant internet search engine beast that spins ever more threads of connections.
Which leads to the question which John Ratcliff exists on the Internet? The one on this Blog that posts pictures of his vacation and doesn't talk about his job? Or, the one who posts polite questions of Freemason forums? Or the one who prattles on about religious twaddle on various forums? Or, the one who takes to task fanatics on conspiracy websites?
Can they all co-exist?
Should they?
I'm not sure. But, I don't know if I can hide from the many versions of me. The many slices of my personality I spread on the internet like so much butter on so much bread.
So, in the interest of full disclosure. Here are places you might find me saying shit I probably shouldn't be saying in public.
My embarassing Wikipedia article.
My strange and bizarre religious discussion website.
A conservative Freemason Forum I post on occasionaly.
A liberal Freemason Forum I post on occasionaly.
An anti-Freemason message forum I *rant* on somtimes. (Some pop-ups but not too many)
A 'members only' Freemason website I frequent hosted by Right Worshipful Brother Chris Hodapp (author of 'Freemasonry for Dummies). I think you have to be a Freemason to register.
Maybe you see a theme here, but the point is that I don't present the same persona in all places at all times.
Well, It's 12:30 and I am finally tired and may fall asleep. I don't think there was ultimately any point to this post other than bumping my last one. Keyword search on me all you want. You will never find the 'real' me anywhere because I don't know who that guy is myself.
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