Social Media for my "other" self

[danam]

I'm seriously considering creating a LinkedIn account for my alternate, feminine identity. Heck, Dana already has a YouTube channel with a few thousand subscribers. I want to do it because it's thrilling. I admit it. My alternate profession would be something like "Internet Blogger" and possibly "Executive Assistant." How fun!!! However, a part of my "regular" self is hesitant. I'm pretty tech-savvy, so I'm confident I can manage the two identities, but I also understand that it's very, very easy to mess up and cross the two lives. Is creating a social media identity on LinkedIn taking it too far? Any thoughts, suggestions, or experiences to share?

[njcddresser]

I've done a similar thing. Jackie has her own email, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest accounts. Likewise I'm pretty tech-save and am not concerned with the two crossing paths.

[Lana Mae]

I am glad you girls are tech savvy! I am tech challenged! Lana Mae does have her own G-mail account though! If you feel like you can handle it, I say go for it,but be aware of things that can go wrong!! That is my 2 cents!! Hugs Lana Mae

[Kate Simmons]

I think you may have coined a new term Dana, "cross living" which indeed a lot of us do here. Good luck Hon.

[bok4fun]

I also have separate accounts and have had little issue so far. But I recently read a post on this forum about somebody who was sure they had done everything right, but was outed at work because of a social media account, even after going to great pains to make sure the accounts were blocked from each other as well as associates and family.

Remember that virtually all social apps spend a great deal of time reviewing your browsing history in an effort to present ads and content which may be of interest to you, and therefore have a great deal of information about you. You may think you have all of the settings right to prevent this from happening, but have you really read the user agreements for the social apps? You may be surprised how much they can do regardless of the settings, under the guise of something that appears to be completely innocuous.

Its kind of like all the people on FB that believe by posting a statement to their page that they "explicitly forbid any third party from collecting any information about them..." They can post that until the cows come home, but it means nothing. The user agreement which they had to accept when setting up the FB account dictates everything.

Im not saying don't do it, just be aware that things can happen. It may be something as simple as adding a secondary email address for recovery purposes, which ends up showing up in a search.

[Krisi]

If being outed concerns you then you should keep your dressing off the Internet. Crossdressing sites are probably safe if you use the "In Private" or similar feature of your browser and don't use your real name or derivative and hometown.

You have to determine the risks and advantages and make your own decision.

I suspect LinkedIn (and Facebook, Twitter, etc.) frowns upon people making "fake" accounts but there's no way for them to police it.

[CarlaWestin]

Carla has her own gmail account and google drive space. I'd get her a credit card but, could you imagine the bill just for shoes??

[Karmen]

LinkedIn is a totaly business oriented social media. If you make buisness as a Dana, go ahead. Otherwise I don't see any use for it and can only make problems for you if you don't live as Dana all the time.

[docrobbysherry]

Sherry has had her own FB Page for 5+ years. With a 1000+ Friends. So far, no issues!

However, I use DIFFERENT SERVERS for my separate FB accounts!

[Wierd Matty Makinen]

I don’t think creating separate accounts would be going too far at all. I’ve been contemplating doing the same thing for “Matty.” When I get my novel out, I was going to create a LiveJournal account and some social media accounts as an “official” writer, and since Matty is a writer as well, she would be getting her own material also. I’ve been playing it off as “a good friend of mine.” It’s actually becoming a race to see which of me will get a novel out first.

My problem is that the similarities between my two selves are much too glaring and obvious, and it would be a matter of time before someone puts their finger on the observation. I’m only slightly proficient with technology [I’m a child of the nineties, and I never outgrew it], though I’m not a complete twit. I know I’ll eventually botch it up somewhere down the road.

But that’s just my own pessimistic boat. You seem like you have this well in hand. Best of luck to you!

[Dana44]

I have a gmail account for Dana and this laptop is hers and registered as hers. For LinkeIn it may be hard to keep it all straight. But it might work okay, but somebody may connect the dots and if you don't mind that then it should be good.

[Stephanie47]

LinkedIn is a totaly business oriented social media. If you make buisness as a Dana, go ahead. Otherwise I don't see any use for it and can only make problems for you if you don't live as Dana all the time.

That's what I was thinking also. There are members in my family with a LinkedIn account and I don't see much opportunity for posting a lot of social media type activity. Many times on this site I will follow the link to a ladies' account to see other pictures or a blogging site. That seems like a fun idea. Are you considering establishing a totally false identity with false business credentials?

[danam]

I'm crossing fantasy with reality, no question about that. My tentative plan is to start a literary blog to post my short stories. I have tons of them. During my late 20s I forbade myself from dressing, and, with all that pent-up energy, wrote a series of transgender fantasy stories that became my outlet. Most are sh!te, of course, but some have a tiny bit of merit. To help "legitimize" the blog, I'll create a LinkedIn page. Dana can be a "Creative Writer/Blogger", which is a total fantasy. But thrilling!! Oh, and I'll also create promotional videos on Dana's YouTube channel, creating awareness for the blog. Great fun!!!

I'm wondering, however, if I'm giving Dana a little too much reality, and crossing some weird boundary between fantasy and reality. Although, there is a part of me that would LOVE for Dana to be recognized in the real world for HER talents. In some ways, she already is real. My YouTube "hip pad" video has been wildly successful, and I think it's made an impact on the crossdressing community. So perhaps this is a logical next step.

[Lori Kurtz]

I've been surprised by how often I get emails from LinkedIn, asking me if I know this person or that person. Most of the time, I do know who the people are that LinkedIn is asking me about, but I have no desire to establish that LinkedIn connection with them, and I don't know how LinkedIn figured out that I might know them. If were an active dresser (I don't do it any more), and if my dressing were an in-the-closet thing, I would be very wary of LinkedIn, because I would be afraid that some of the people that know me only in my male identity might get an email from LinkedIn asking them if they know Lori Kurtz, and that this might somehow end up in my being unwillingly outed. If I were you, unless you know way more about LinkedIn's relationship algorithms than I do, I'd be content with the already-substantial online presence you've created for Dana with that YouTube channel.

[Sharon B.]

I have separate accounts for my female self and my male self. Both are on face-book, yahoo, she also has pinterest where he doesn't.

[barbara gordon]

I think if its as a "business" entity to promote your writing and youtube vids it would be ok . but as others have said there are risks if you are trying to stay income stealth mode to friends and family . etc .... fFB, twitter , instagram are more entertainment based and maybe easier to navigate



By the way ... how can I find the "hip pad video" ?

[danam]

I've been surprised by how often I get emails from LinkedIn, asking me if I know this person or that person. Most of the time, I do know who the people are that LinkedIn is asking me about, but I have no desire to establish that LinkedIn connection with them, and I don't know how LinkedIn figured out that I might know them. If were an active dresser (I don't do it any more), and if my dressing were an in-the-closet thing, I would be very wary of LinkedIn, because I would be afraid that some of the people that know me only in my male identity might get an email from LinkedIn asking them if they know Lori Kurtz, and that this might somehow end up in my being unwillingly outed. If I were you, unless you know way more about LinkedIn's relationship algorithms than I do, I'd be content with the already-substantial online presence you've created for Dana with that YouTube channel.

Good point!!!! The algorithms LinkedIn uses are scary and push the bounds of ethics, that's for sure. I know for a fact that they have a method for scanning your email contacts, based on some of the suggestions they've given me. I'll think twice about LinkedIn, especially now that Microsoft owns them.

Barbara:
Here's the link to my hip pad video. 445,000 views!!!

[Nyla F]

LinkedIn is a professional/career site. I think you can find better social media choices to express this side of yourself.

[Tracii G]

My other side has her own email and FB accounts and has for a long time.
I use two different browsers and the two don't cross.

[dallasmann]

I would go for the more fun social media sites, but do what you want, girl!