We Have all Experienced the Different Types of Profiles on Social Media.
In general we have five types of profiles on social media. These five types all have benefits and downsides.
1. Brand
These are your business accounts. This would be accounts like our $200 Social or Steemit. These accounts generally keep it professional and share content about their industry or business.
2. Persona
The most common accounts are persona based. This is your personal profile.
3. Anonymous
These are folks who don't want their identity known for any number of reasons.
4. Fake
The internet is full of fake accounts. They have many different purposes.
5. Subject Based
This is the type of account used for curation. They are usually share content like news or images.
Today I am Going to Focus on Persona and Anonymous.
When someone joins a new social media platform like Steemit they can choose to set up a persona account or anonymous account. Both types of accounts have benefits and downsides. Here I am going to explain the pros and cons of the type of account you choose. There is no box to check on Steemit this is a personal decision.
Benefits of Persona Accounts
- Real Person Behind the Account.
- Verifiable Across Social Media.
- Building a Personal Brand.
- People Know Who You Are.
- Trust
Benefits of an Anonymous Account.
- People Don't Know Who You Are.
- No Worries of Personal Attacks.
- You Can Speak Your Mind Freely.
- You Can Have Multiple Accounts.
Downside to a Persona Account.
- You Are Open to Personal Attacks Online.
- You Are Easily Recognized in Public.
- Your Content and Comments Will Follow You Online.
Downside to a Anonymous Account.
- Very Little Trust.
- Personal Connection is Lacking.
- No Responsibility to the Community.
- Growth Can be Challenging.
There Are Many Anonymous Accounts Online that are Successful.
Have you ever heard of Zerohedge? This anonymous website has had exponential growth following the financial crisis of 2008. A few years back the team behind Zerohedge was outed but the site continues to flourish online. The other Anonymous account that comes to mind is Rogue Money. These guys are doing a great job of trolling media, finance and governments around the world. These accounts have grown quietly but are making a huge impact.
My recommendation for the Steemit community is if you want to use an anonymous account make sure to stick with it. If you are going to be a troll, embrace that shit. We have all seen the account @Asshole. They embrace flagging everyone's posts without being apologetic.
Source @Carlos-Cabeza
Of course not all anonymous accounts are trolls. Some folks just don't want to have their face online. If someone chooses this path don't judge them. Many have a good reason why they don't want to have their face online. Here on Steemit it could be that someone does not want their account exposed due to tax reasons. I can respect that!
Then We Have Those That we Prefer to be Anonymous!
If You Are Building a Persona Account the Rewards Can be Exceptional!
I have been in the social media game for over six years. @Anahilarski and I have learned that the persona account is the best way to go online. You reap the most rewards, accolades and opportunities. Over time your persona will morph into a personal brand. This is when you will have an opportunity to monetize your brand as an Influencer. Being an Influencer is my ultimate goal online. When you reach the position of Influencer in a particular niche people will begin to associate you with a specific subject.
My subjects are Bitcoin, Gold, Panama and Social Media. You can narrow down your subjects much more but I have chosen to expand my interests over the years. All of this has led me to a very profitable business online. @Anahilarski and I often receive messages on social media like these.
- "hey we just saw you guys at the mall."
- "I just saw your post about Bitcoin can you help me?"
- "I want to buy Bitcoin here in Panama, Where do I go?"
- "I need help with my social media, can you help our business?"
- "You guys are so positive, thank you for being an inspiration."
It is hard to do this with an anonymous account on social media. Sure it is possible but the level of difficulty is much higher. If you are new to blogging or social media I recommend you start off with a persona account. Don't worry about making mistakes, we all have been there!
I'm definitely in the Persona Account realms for the moment... Thanks for sharing these pieces of information. I even noticed a fe minutes ago how the bot account @asshole had flagged me on my latest post and now I'm trying to find a way to deal with it.
Over the course of last week, there was a nice chat with a researcher who has done studies on the subject you just spoke about and she was underlining how the Persona Account has much more a tendency to speak their mind truthfully, though being much more exposed to possible "detrimental downfalls"... It made me think about how we, on Steemit, have a responsibility to our platform and our selves first and how important it is for us all to be aware of this value of "trust". @krnl has written a great post underlining how trust is becoming more and more of a highly valuable asset I our information packed modern daily life. I couldn't help but think about how glad I am to be valued as a trustworthy member of many Steem communities by now and find myself extremely grateful to the individuals entrusting me with their fellowship.
All for one and one for all! Namaste :)
He hit me too, but only at 1%
I don't know anything about the % he hit me with, all I know is that there's a highly undeserving flag on my post that I have discovered a few hours ago as I gave the link to someone else on this platform. How did you find out about the % This is so odd and uncalled for.
Namaste :)
I would not put any mental energy into the flagging problem.
100% agree
This was why I was attracted to Steemit in the first place. I loved seeing real people holding their cards with the Steemit name and date.
That blew me away and I just had to join.
But there is back story to why this so impressed me:
I actually avoided Facebook for years as I was just to obusy and thought it was nonsense (it is of course lol!)
Anyway due to pressure from friends I ended up joining only about 2 or so years ago now, and again, I used my real name. I actually was so naive I thought everyone did.
Anyways I started making "friends" with people from other countries and particularly in America.
There was this one guy I really liked and got on well with. He was passionate about Trump and wanted him to win. Then one day he tells me that he was using his X-girlfriends account to create a fake I.D. And he was doing this so that his friends and work colleagues did not know his real views because at that time Trump was being ridiculed.
Well I carried on talking with the guy and still I like him. But then when Trump won he tells me he would now reveal his true identity. He contacts me on the private messenger thingy and says "Hi its me Arthur".
It turns out he was some guy living in Las Vegas and he looked nothing like I imagined.
Now here´s the thing. My reaction was not what I could have predicted.
I suddenly felt like I ever knew the guy at all. And I felt a bit kind of, well cheated in a way. I can´t find how to express it actually.
Needless to say I suddenly found I could no longer relate to the guy and gradually we stopped chatting. Its been over a month since I spoke or heard of him. This experience for me has been a case of once bitten twice shy and I am not so sure I would give my time again to someone I did not know for sure who they really are.
Thought provoking post @hilarski
Great info my friend. It's working for you here!
@kus-knee (The Old Dog)
I'm all about the persona accounts. Hey, it's my content and I own them, warts and all. While personal attacks might bother me for a short time, I've grown a thick skin because of them - and honestly my thinking has turned to embrace the trolls without giving them the keys to the household. LOL
My face and name are all over social media. I'd probably have a bigger following if I knew what I wanted to be when I grow up so I often think of myself as a Jane of all trades, master of none - and my numbers probably reflect that... but that's okay because I'm not out to get a million followers. Just a few close people who get me. And that's how I feel about that. :)
Interesting post!
good and useful post
i will and always want to be personal profile bro....
A good read. Thank you for posting Randy!
Please consider however that not everyone is on the Steemit platform anymore and therefore won't see the "flags" (downvotes) that you mention here.
nice post, i like
Thank you for checking it out!
I am also a "persona account" person, which is also my brand and my subject based account. I like admixtures! ^^
To make it short, I am ready to face anything I would say :)
That was my initial instinct too.
I find using my real name keeps me honest.
If I used a pen name I'd be tempted to be a little naughtier.
If I was then outed, particularly on the permanent blockchain, it'd end up sullying my real name anyway.
I know I would be out of control. Better to keep my real name to keep me in check.
Great article Randy, I've never really thought too much of the personal brand aspect, but I definitely see it. My associated subject is, of course, cigars. :-)
Now that is definitely something you can monetize!
I don't trust verified accounts. they can be fake too. just because someone verifies them does not mean anything. I could go make a bunch of fake accounts to link to this one and get verified. does not make the information real, only says some dumbass that thinks they have the ability to verifiy stuff fell for it.
Early on when verifaction started I brought this up and everyone had a talk about it.
What the whales told me is the verrifaction process is entertainment on its own and has no actual benefit for steemit besides entertainment for the whales.
Its just another steemit scam.
imo atleast.
maybe I should make a fake account and get it verified just to prove it can be done.
Prolly not worth the effort though as steemit still cant even get basic shit taken care of.
Still pretending to be in beta
4 tag problem
the flagging issue (should have been first thing delt with)
and on and on.
Did everyone forget the r4fken ordeal? he has a verified account 2 times and both were fake. paid 5 bucks onfiver to get chicks to post picts holding signs saying steemit and the date ect.
So the idea that people get paid out more for a verification when it can easily be faked only shows the scam element in it imo.
I thought the five tag issue was resolved.
maybe I was gone a bit, still see a lot of posts with only 4 tags and haven't checked for posts with 5 tags.
Ill check it out now.
:D
I gues it is fixed.
looks like 80% of steemit is unaware by the number of posts with only 4 tags
I understand you are Skeptical @Skeptic but if that happens 1 out of 1,000 times I can live with it.
but 2 out of 1000 you cant?
if anything I would say prolly a 60%-40% of real to fake going on already.
There is also no such thing as a verified account on Steemit at the moment. I went through the Google and Youtube verified process and believe me it was a pain in the ass.
wait, so the youtube and google accounts I made for this steemit account could be used to verifiy this account?
:O
I asked when verification started if I could get anon verification and everyone said no, has to be real information that can be linked back to me.
I might try that, I would like the extra pay out for doing nothing more then I already do like the others that are verified. change nothing but get paid more because a verifacition stamp.
xD
No, that is not what I said but feel free to have an opinion.
I never claimed you said something.
O.o
I asked questions about your statement.
of corse I have an opinion but thank you for giving me primission to have it.
-smh-
This is a semi-anonymous account incorporating the online handle I have had for a very long time. I prefer this slight anonymity because I have received death threats from keyboard warriors for posting things they dislike, and while we all know they're all probably incapable of carrying out such threats, why bother giving them extra ammunition to expand the sphere of their trolling into my real life?
It certainly won't stop a truly dedicated troll or a government agency from finding out who I am, but if either of those are after me, I have bigger worries anyway.
sad to think that because you don't want to receive death threats out of opinin that you wont get as much pay out as someone elese with a fake account and fake identity that has been verified.
There's a reason both villains and heroes often wear masks :D
yup, I personally don't think an extra 5 bucks a post is worth having people harassing my work or family because they disagree with an opinion I have.
but..... extra 5 bucks a post to get verified under a fake name and pic could be worth it.
lol
I watched your Anarcast interview with Jeff Berwick (4 weeks back). Enjoyed the talk. Very good episode. I may contact you again to make use of your $200 Twitter service.
Your arguments in this article appear sound to me. Now you've got me thinking about the appropriateness of my own Steemit ID. I've obviously gone the Anonymous route, but haven't posted any article(s) yet.
As soon as I had finished reading your post I logged-in, hoping to find a way to edit my account in order to revamp my 'handle' or moniker or Steemit ID ... but no edit of this kind appears to exist. Do you concur Randy?
In other words, I am thinking of revamping my presence to a Persona Account. Must I start over by opening a new account? Or is there a way to edit the one I already have?
Enjoyed reading this... seems to me some of this is going to boil down to not only branding, but whether you're involved in something that's intended to create "lasting value" vs. a spur-of-the-moment, or trend gig. For example, I am not sure someone could build lasting authority in a niche with an anonymous identity... UNLESS of course you're something like a whistle blowing organization, but then we're back to company branding vs. personal branding.
And these words are an example of how a personal brand has value: I ended up on this post because I recognized your name from empire.kred... had this been posted by "user129723" I would never have been here.