Getting a Handle on Identity
Hi John,
This is Ryan (@ryandawidjan), I hope you don’t mind me reaching out. [Insert reason and/or commonality]
For the vast majority of personal cold and warm-reference emails that I send, I lead off with this “technique”. The inclusion of the twitter handle is significant for several reasons.
First, it can help immediately trigger past moments of connection between the two of us. favorites/discussions/occasionally seeing the handle in the stream. Second and most importantly, it serves as a fast direct link to what I am doing, what I am thinking about and who I am interacting with. All important signals at a quick glance when someone is deciding to potentially invest their energy and time with you. Third, it shows I’m “a real” person to someone who may have never heard of me. By real, I mean, there are clear signals I’m not a bot or scammer.
I think one’s online presence is hugely impactful in trying to foster and maintain offline relationships. I have the perspective that my twitter identity is by far the most important tool. I expect and even welcome a potential employer, date or company partner to explore @ryandawidjan. I have nothing to hide there. You can see the content I find fascinating, the types of individuals I follow and talk with. It isn’t a perfectly polished about.me or private Facebook page. It doesn’t serve as a purely promotional locked box. It serves as a consistent window into my mind and actions, things that I believe are substantive opportunities to relate to.
Don’t underestimate your handle as a well of personal commonality, first impression maker and identity tool. It’s quite hard to fake 16,000 tweets over the course of 1000 days. Your next boss or date may just get excited about the opportunity to meet you.
What online presences truly serve as an identity for you and when do you reference them?
