Remain Anonymous

December of 2017....

Just a regular month for most people. But for me, it was the start of a journey that has been going on to this day. Yeah that was the month and year that I joined the blockchain. It was called 'Steem' back then and then became what we know now as Hive.

Let me set the scene for you, this was just before 'everyone' started getting interested in crypto. Just before you saw internet marketing gurus telling you the sure fire token that was going to moonshot. Just before (or at the peak) of Bitconnect. At the time that cloud mining was a thing...

Oh what a time to be alive!

I discovered this chain, from a crypto faucet called Eobot. As soon as I read that it was a blogging blockchain it captured my attention. And then the promise of 'tokenizing the web' just made sense for my entrepreneurial mindset back then. So I made the decision to join but this took me quite sometime to actually accomplish...

And the main reason was because I sat there for hours and asked myself the following question;

"Should I use the personal brand that most people in my online community knew me as for a username? Or should I remain anonymous because this felt like the wild west of the crypto sphere back then?"

I was on the fence for hours. I remember it like it was yesterday. Going over the pros and cons of each. So I ended up using my first and last name, but throwing my middle initial between them to...Create a new identity of sorts. Or at least that is what I told myself.

And thus was born....'jongolson'

I decided I would use my real name. My pictures, my face on videos, my likeness...Just like I did in my online career for years before. I had nothing to hide, other than I was a failed entrepreneur every now and again so I figured...Personal brand it is!

There's a reason why I bring this up....8 years later lol

I was scrolling around the blockchain and noticed a post by @acidyo a week or two ago. He mentioned about the fact that his account has remained anonymous and it hit me....

Did I make the right decision?

Pros and cons to this decision. The pros is that I have a track record on chain that can be verified that I'm a real person. I have videos, podcasts, blog posts for over 8 years of showing that yup, this is me. And yeah I guess we could have done that without revealing my real name or face too. But the entrepreneur in me has always maintained that people do business with those they know, like and trust.

So I have used this 'face' for years. But this isn't always a must because look at guys like @taskmaster4450 I know his face, heck I even co-hosted a podcast with him for years. But if you paid me a million bucks to tell you his real name...I couldn't do it.

There are a ton of the 'OGs' on this chain that have remained anonymous. And most of them seem to be happy with their decision. And I think that's because like I mentioned above, this blockchain felt like the wild west when it was getting started. Some of these people were getting thousands of dollars every time they wrote a blog post so...Yeah remaining 'faceless' was probably a good idea lol

But alas...Everything is on chain so...

I'm obviously stuck with my decision. And thinking back, I don't know if I would change a thing. Mostly because I have invested time, energy and effort into this 'brand' that I've developed over the years here. And for better or for worse, the blockchain knows me as...'jongo' lol

Kinda backfired if I was trying to be known as my real name huh?

What would you choose if you could re-do your beginning here?

I'd love to hear from people that do use their real name and likeness, as well as those that have remained anonymous?

Do you think it hurt or helped your journey so far?