- A to Z Home's Cool
- Home
- Articles
- Beginning to Homeschool
- Chat Room
- Community Networking
- Concerns
- Curriculum Shopping
- Distance Learning Programs
- DVD Rentals
- Early Years
- Events
- Explorations 4 Kids
- Field Trips
- Gifted Kids
- Holiday Directory
- Homeschooling Jokes
- Laws & Legalities
- Lessons & Ideas
- Methods, Styles
- Regional Information
- Religion & Cultural
- Special Needs
- Support Group Resources
- Teens & College-Bound
- Thoughts & Hard Facts
- Unschooling
- Explorations 4 Kids
- Computer Literacy
- Drivers Ed
- Fine Arts
- General Interest
- Health & Fitness
- Language Arts
- Languages
- Math
- Science Experiments
- * Astronomy
- * Biology
- * Chemistry
- * Earth Science
- * Physics
- Social Studies
-
-
- Drivers Ed
- Teens, earn your driving certificate from the comfort of your own computer.
- Drivers
Ed - By
State - Safe Driving
-
 
- A to Z DVD Library
- DVD rental and purchase
store
|
Developing Your Online Persona
Dateline: July 30, 2002
by Ann Zeise
I dropped into a homeschool chat wearing my "wrong"
name for that chat room. I was GoMilpitas and I usually appear
as A2ZHmsCool. One friend recognized the GoMilpitas name from
my website and asked, "A2, is that you?" I quickly
changed into my proper persona for that chat.
Why was this so important? All my online names represent me,
but in different ways. GoMilpitas, or "Go" for short,
is my civic persona. She is a typical Chamber of Commerce member
and civic booster and sometimes critic. She helps small businesses
and non-profits get online. A2ZHmsCool is a homeschool mom and
website developer. She is known online as someone to turn to
for homeschool and web design and marketing advice. There's also
older "me" online: Anaise. She's bright, funny, spicy
and herbal; loves to really stir up a room. She's semi-retired
now, as she was getting far too much spam and the other personas
take up too much time. Then there's annzeise who participates
mostly in internet forums.
Does it sound like I have a multiple personality disorder?
I just choose to simplify or bring out certain aspects of
my total personality in certain places where it is more appropriate
to behave in one way or the other. Anaise may tell off-color
jokes that Go and A2 never will! Go, however, likes political
jokes and A2 likes jokes about parenting and kids.
As I look back over my nearly 13 years online, I realize that
I also integrated into my real self the more interesting persons
I was portraying online. I wasn't so bold 13 years ago. I didn't
know that people could appreciate my humorous attitude about
life. I didn't know I could be entertaining, thought wise or
sexy, in a nice way. You couldn't have paid me to write! It was
as if I could practice being more adventurous online before I
implemented the change in my real life.
I've watched this happen to other people as well, for both
good and bad. Some people show an evil or mean side online that
I hope they would never show in their offline communities. These
"flamers" had better be careful, as sometimes this
fictional personality can take over and they'll behave that way
offline, with dire consequences.
In homeschool forums I love to watch the parade of personas
that women, mostly, have adapted. There's the earth mom, who
does everything naturally. There's usually a number who have
names to reflect that they homeschool, such as mine. Other personas
reflect their value system or religion. I love the humorous personas.
There are those from different cultures who like to really play
up their regional stereotypes, be they from England or just Los
Angeles. I'll sometimes really play up my geeky Silicon Valley
woman side. Often we online homeschoolers portray our children
as being far above normal, when in reality, they've only just
surprised us by suddenly managing to master one thing -- finally!
While some like to have a persona that is fairly close to
their real life, others often have a great time pretending they
are someone else entirely, even to fabricating where they live,
their age, and their marital status. Are these people lying or
play acting? It is sometimes hard to tell. This is why you have
to be rather careful online and try not to be too gullible, though
it can be fun to play along with actors, do think of them as
such. Computers are theater! Think about it.
Why act? Like novelists say that through writing they can
work out concerns and problems in their lives as the characters
they invent work through their fictional problems, so through
writing online from the point of view of your ideal person, you
can work through your own difficulties. It is a cathartic experience.
It is also far cheaper than therapy.
Just be kind to others online in the process. Online is a
great place to be braver, funnier, kinder, a place where you
can express opinions and debate about matters you hadn't thought
about too deeply before. This is why chat, maillists and message
boards are attractive. It is oft times easier to test out with
online buddies some attitude or attribute you wish you had, and
if these characteristics are appreciated, show them more in your
real life to those who love you more.
|
- Power
AOL: A Survival Guide
by Kirk Paul Lafler
- Lafler presents tips on using some of the latest features
and offerings available with Version 6.0. A comprehensive self-help
resource for troubleshooting and resolving AOL problems and errors.
For the novice to the experienced user. Softcover.
-
- AOL
Simplified 3rd Edition
by Ruth Maran
- Covers the most popular features of AOL, including e-mail,
instant messaging and the Buddy List(r) feature, My Calendar,
the AOL Media Player, the "You've Got Pictures"(sm)
service, Radio AOL, AOL Shop, and the AOL Box Office.
-
- Family
Guide to the Internet
- (Aol the Internet Made Easy by the World's No. 1)
by Steve Shipside
|
