In the 21st century, it’s hard to hide. We can “check-in” to show people where we are and “snap” live video of what is going on there. Some people try hard to stay current with social media while others try hard to stay away from it all. While sometimes I wish I can run and hide from  social media that often makes me aware of things I really don’t care about, I can’t stay away.  The reality of my work calls for the need to keep up to stay current. I need to see what others are doing and designing as inspiration and knowledge for my own work. The internet and apps are the modern day magazines. The only difference is that these newsstands have millions of digital pages you can flip through at the push of a button. It’s quite easy to learn about something new and yourself too.

While I go between wanting to run under a rock and just put it all on the line, I want to be present. Not only present by keeping up with the changing digital norms, but present for others to see what I am all about. You found yourself on this blog (thanks for reading this far!) and maybe clicked through some of my previous work.  I made the decision to be public and present whenever possible if comfortable. Instagram, public. Facebook, private. Personal website, public and pretty personal. Twitter, public. Snapchat, private. I choose what I say but remain honest with what is said. I’ll call this being publicly private.

I don’t mind that people know where I’ve been or what I am about. This helps someone decide if they want to work with me, if they have the same values, or if we have the same taste. These things are important in forming relationships and for the purpose of this website, future client or employer relationships. My photos tell a story of my daily life, but not every part of my life. I like that people can get a sense of who I am but I also constantly remind myself that the internet doesn’t die or disappear. The things I post and say last F O R E V S and that’s a fact. I know I am getting older because I think about this in a way I wouldn’t have if I was a teen.  I want to be a person I will approve of 10 years from now and the person I want my family to know and see.

So while I am in a constant push and pull of how involved I want to get in my social media presence, I will always be present. It helps keep me in check and is a pretty nice way for people to check-in.