How To Pick A Fun Online Name
Maybe I am a bit nostalgic about how the Internet used to be, but personally, I do not always want to connect my real name with what I am writing. Up until a few years ago I usually did not use my picture except on my Myspace and my Facebook, but even there I always used a screen name. I enjoy coming up with fun and creative screen names, and over the years these monikers have become part of my online identity. People who know me in real life, or people I talk to over the email, know my real name, but for the world to see I feel more comfortable having a screen name. One of the reasons I do this is because it is like a fun persona for me. Sweetiepie was a screen name I came up with for HubPages because I love sweets like pie, but I have many other screen names besides this one. So I know I am not the only one out there who feels this way, but today I was thinking about code names and nicknames when I read an article about how Obama is called "Renegade" by the secret service, and Biden is referred to as "Celtic". It got me thinking, screen names and nicknames can be a very fun way to create an alternative online/offline identity to share with your partner, friends, online friends, or even work colleagues. So how do you pick a personal yet fun screen name/nickname?
Person, Place, Or Thing
Remember how during share and tell in grade school when you had to reveal to the class whether the object you were going to present was a person, person, or thing? If not, let me elaborate. In kindergarten and first grade, we would bring an object in to share with the class, but the requirement was it must be concealed in a bag, or if it could not be there we had to let the class guess about it first. We would give students in the class several opportunities to guess what type of person, place, or thing this was until revealing exactly what we were going to share. If we were going to share a story about a parent that was exciting for us because no one could not see this person, but one student actually had their dad hide under a blanket for share and tell, which shows how silly this classroom game could get.
Anyway, when I was younger I learned there were certain people, places, and things that I had a special affinity for, especially the San Bernardino Mountains. Growing up in this place was the embodiment of security and beauty because I lived right next to a national forest and we only had a few neighbors at that time. More people have moved to this location since then. However, we tended to keep to ourselves for the most part both then and now, so I have always appreciated the somewhat isolated lifestyle of the mountains. The fire has drastically changed the landscape right next to my parents' house, but I will always be fond of the mountains, which have a special place in my mind and heart. I enjoy being in the mountains with my family and it is a place that I always go to for solitude.
Thus, one day when I was trying to come up with a screen name I choose Bearie23 because we saw bears in the mountains quite often, and I like the number 23. Actually, one day when I went out on a run I saw run approximately fifty feet in front of me before darting back into the woods, which prompted me to hide in a porta potty next to the ranger's station. I was so terrified after that I flagged down a local sheriff to give me a ride home, and he seemed a little scared I had been jogging by myself in the forest. Anyway, that was the last time I would ever do that, and I am sure they had quite a laugh about it when he got back to work. Thus, I think bears are beautiful creatures of nature, but I would never want to see one run directly in front of me again.
Most people would probably not realize what this screen name means to me, and some actually think my real name is Bearie. However, it is fun to share the story of how I came up with my first major screen name and I will always have many good memories about it.
Two years ago I joined HubPages and came up with the screen name Sweetiepie at the time, but I cannot exactly recall why. I believe it was because I like both pies and sweets, hence the nickname. This past year I started several websites and I was struggling for name for my site. I decided upon the domain name sweetbearies because I am sweetiepie here on HubPages, and I like my old screename Bearie23.
Screenames allow online writers to create an alter identity and just write for fun. When I am Sweetiepie on HubPages I do not have to worry about bills or work, I can just focus on writing and enjoying my leisure time. Writing has been a true therapy for me in many ways, and creating fun screen names to go along with my writing has made it a world of escapism. So what are your thoughts on screen names? I feel nicknames are a fun way to express another side of our identity.
