1. Use your real name

A no-brainer, but many people don’t do this. Be sure to use your full name, too, not just your first or your initials. Don’t worry, I’ve tested it out and can guarantee that the world won’t end as soon as you reveal your apellido.

2. Use a real picture of yourself

Don’t use some abstract image that’s supposed to sum up your personality or what you’re all about. When I meet you in person I don’t see a lighthouse at sunrise. I see your face. And don’t use some cartoon version of your face. I want to see the real you, not the Disney edition.

3. Don’t half-ass the profanities

Use them in their entirety or not at all. Some people write fuck as f*ck. I can never understand why. Is that asterisk supposed to save whatever fragile minds might take offense? I go by this rule: If I’m comfortable uttering the profanity among friends offline, I should be willing to write it on the internet with my name attached.

4. Share the bad along with the good

Tells us about your failures as well as your successes, your embarrassing moments as well as those times you were a rock-star. (That said, try to share mostly positive things. The right kind of people will stop paying attention if all you do is write about why you suck.)

5. Post some video of yourself

The real you exists in three dimensions, and video does a better job of capturing that than any other medium (at least until they get holograms working right). If you’re one of those people who hates seeing yourself on video, get over it. That’s how the rest of the world sees you all the time. Once you learn to accept that, you’ll have learned to accept a big part of yourself.

6. Don’t be perfect

A typo isn’t a big deal. Neither is stumbling over your words on video. And it’s okay to admit that you don’t know something, or that you need time to think about it. Authenticity beats perfection, every time.

7. Ask for help

Piggybacking on the last one, since I don’t have all the answers and would love to hear from you: What’s your best tip for being real on the Internet? Let me know in the comments. Or, better yet, leave a video response on YouTube

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UPDATE: The ever-real David Damron from LifeExcursion took me up on that last little challenge, posting the following video response on YouTube. Cheers, David!

In his response, David mentions this post by Sean Ogle on the move bloggers are making towards video. Can’t help but agree.

Perfection is an impossible goal, and you’re almost certainly setting yourself up for failure if you set out to achieve it. A much better plan is to aim for improvement. Small, constant improvements, day after day, week after week.

Don’t beat yourself up if today didn’t turn out perfectly. Ask yourself, was it better than yesterday? or was it better than this day last week? this day last year?

Besides frustration and dejection, aiming for perfection can also lead to inaction. That is, you don’t even know where to begin so you don’t begin at all. Examples of this:

• Timmy realizes that eating animal products is a pretty bad idea, but he can’t fathom the thought of eliminating all animal products from his diet. And so, he doesn’t eliminate any.
• Sally would like to help out at a local homeless shelter, but she’s worried she won’t be able to commit to helping out every Thursday night. And so, she doesn’t help out at all.

Both Timmy and Sally have analysis paralysis (also known as procrasterbation). They’re thinking it’s either all or nothing, perfection or bust. Timmy would of course be much better off if he started with something as simple as Meatless Mondays, while Sally’s help at the homeless center would surely be appreciated even on an irregular basis.

What positive change have you been postponing, telling yourself you’ll make it happen when you have more time/money/whatever? What one small step could you take immediately to move you closer to your goal?