Reputation is character minus what you’ve been caught doing — Michael Iapoce

On-line you can be who you want to be, however I think most regular bloggers will agree that reputations are built and enhanced by interacting with people who aren’t afraid to be themselves, rather than hiding behind a persona.  Of course, over time we accumulate baggage that doesn’t represent us fully now.

When I started blogging, I was more protective of who I am, but over time I’ve appeared in so many places that identifying and tracking back the real me isn’t actually that hard.  This leads to an inconsistency.

I’ve also experimented with several blogs over the years and under some pseudonyms that I’d rather weren’t attributed back to me (personally I think that there was a positive message in my LazyLeaders blog, but at first glance, which might be all you get if someone is looking to employ you, the title isn’t really that flattering).

To achieve this, I’ve been slowly doing several things:

1. Linking the value sites together - LinkedIn takes you to this blog, this blog takes you to LinkedIn and Twitter, Twitter will bring you back here.
2. Deleting accounts that I no longer need or use.  Nothing wrong with them, but I’m trying to centralise and consolidate my identity on line (goodby Jaiku).
3. Deleting old blogs where I just don’t need them.
4. I’m claiming my identity (http://claimid.com) which will also give me an OpenID.

So here it is, Step 4 in re-factoring your digital life:

Step 1: Get a better browser

Step 2: Explore your mail hosts options and consolidate your mail into fewer accounts

Step 3: Update your blog software and template

Step 4: Be consistent and be you!