USERNAME: sbpoet [MOC 17: Username (Journaling)]

USERNAME: sbpoet

Made for the Month of Challenges at The Lilypad: January 17: Username (Journaling). Elements from Tangie Baxter, Lori Davison, Rebecca McMeen, Studio Basic, Amber LaBau, Elegant Wordart, Just Jaimee, Micheline Martin, and Pink Reptile Designs.

187 words

For detailed credits see at flickr.

EDITED so sorry forgot this earlier! Journaling:

I began blogging in January 2004, fourteen years ago, and it must have been about the same time that I chose my . . . handle. I had been using sbmontana, or my real name, for email and my limited online activities.

In 2004, the internet was still a new and potentially dangerous thing. My blog was initially planned to be anonymous, and I needed a domain. I tried everything I could think of, including sbmontana. Everything I could think of was already taken, or had too many characters, or would not work for some techno reason I didn’t understand.

After several frustrating hours, I asked myself “Who am I?”, typed in sbpoet, and bingo, it worked. This was a personal, emotional, leap for me, to claim the title “poet”. A stepping up.

The shell icon is an integral part of my username. I chose it because I love it. I had noticed, on various forums, that I would become confused when people changed their profile photos. I could remember those photos more easily than usernames.

So I decided to never change mine. It was, and is, and will be: