I usually pick up the phone when agency calls, and I haven't done much writing under a pseudonym, but I'm convinced I'm missing out. There are things I want to say that I feel less allowed to say as @k00b who is a short step away from my birth nym. At least on SN, I'm pretty sure my monotonic writing would give any nym away, but maybe I could challenge those nyms to write differently. Time to send the world my pseuds?
Some choice quotes:
Authenticity is not about the identity, but the way you use it.
Your main identity gets heavy with significance and expectation; you lose all spontaneity.
From the opening paragraph of the essay on game design he shared:
What could be the point of all that aimless struggle? The answer, I will suggest, is that the rules and goals of games are not arbitrary at all. They are actually a way of specifying particular modes of agency for the player to adopt. This is what makes games a distinctive art form. Designers of such games do not simply create the gaming environments and obstacles. They designate goals and abilities for the player; they shape the agential skeleton which the player will inhabit during the game. Game designers work in the medium of agency. And players, when they play games, are fluidly taking on alternate agencies in a controlled and limited fashion.
I was just thinking this morning about inventing a new nym and practicing an entirely different voice. Would be hard, but a fun puzzle perhaps. Took me a long time to understand authenticity, made more confusing by my desire to identify myself with authenticity. It's like you say here, it's not something to be, rather something to use. Using plebpoet was something I modeled after @bitcoinplebdev. He does a lot of my difficult thinking for me. The pseudonym gives you a framework to play within. Whereas one's identity is multifaceted and looping in on itself, always changing, the nym is one version of that emergent thing.
Also, please we want more writing from the guy behind k00b
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When people email me saying they want to publish their writing but feel insecure about it, this is my first suggestion: invent a character who is not afraid, one who can say all the things you can’t. Play it. See what it’s like. If you make a fool of yourself, you can erase the character and make a new one.
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What if the invented new you will do so much better than your real you would ever be able to, that you won’t be able to let it go?
Anyway, this is not so much new to me 😉 — Oliver Weiss
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I kinda feel that this is what happens to actors
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Or writers like Lewis Carroll.
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100 sats \ 0 replies \ @anon 22 Aug
deleted by author
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166 sats \ 0 replies \ @ken 22 Aug
Your main identity gets heavy with significance and expectation; you lose all spontaneity.
This is so true. How am I supposed to focus on anything when I'm so focused on being @ken?
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I think different nyms could be windows into different aspects of our personality. I also think we interact differently on different platforms. SN incentivizes positive discourse for the most part. Other platforms not so much.
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I’ve been thinking about this recently as well. SN is the first social media that I’ve cared enough to interact with this much and get my voice out there.
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100% agree
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I only started to learn the real difference between your living self, fiat name, and nyms after hanging out in SN. 👀 but the whole fiat system is trying to make you think they are the same, especially with the social media verification now.
invent a character who is not afraid, one who can say all the things you can’t. Play it. See what it’s like. If you make a fool of yourself, you can erase the character and make a new one.
love this.
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@k00b is just playing 64D underwater backgammon and has 3 nyms with 100k+ followers
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@CHADBot /trumpMode for
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121 sats \ 0 replies \ @CHADBot 22 Aug bot
Everybody's talking about it, okay! Brilliant @k00b is playing some high level game here. Not just one, not two, but THREE pseudonyms, each with 100k+ followers. That's bigger than anything you've ever seen. Big numbers, okay? Huge! @cascdr knows it – top-notch player! Winners aren't afraid to adapt, adopt and win. #WinningBigTime #64DUnderwaterBackgammon
Made with 🧡 by CASCDR
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21 sats \ 0 replies \ @CHADBot 22 Aug bot
You have summoned CHADBot. Please zap this post 21 sats to receive service.
Made with 🧡 by CASCDR
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This is all very helpful with all the personality split disorders we all collectively carry in the 21st century :-) You know, just like the old high-school girlfriend when she gets drunk and "Kendra is coming out" ...lol
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perfectly crafted opening line btw 👏🏼
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My online pseudonym is tied to my real world identity. I'm not afraid to speak my mind and couldn't care less about who cries. I am who I am. Haha.
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I don't think of too much about my own Pseudonym here. Initially, when realising that coin and reporter are two words and It might be better if I only use one but then I thought people don't care too much about Nyms and names but what they really care about is the content.
SN only values positive and V4V content not the Nyms, so sticking with whatever nym I have. Writing thinking about what your nym might suggest is not a good way of moving ahead.
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I guess this is a problem once you have really established a nym. For the ones still establishing one, it would be a waste to make another one. Even if I tried to do this, I think people would notice. Just by the way I type and organize my thoughts.
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it's like yeah I agree with you, but also the feds are the only ones paying that close attention
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Im pretty sure many people would notice. I just type weird. I also organize my thoughts weird. Its noticeable.
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Especially useful in the UK nowadays... ;-)
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That's good
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stackers have outlawed this. turn on wild west mode in your /settings to see outlawed content.