The Odenternet

I suppose the thing I appreciate the most about my presence on the internet is my authenticity. By being relatively strict about what I put out on the internet, my own personality seems to shine through instead of some manufactured E-Keenan. Granted, I do not have any enemies creating fake Facebook accounts, photo shopping me onto nude photos of Oprah, or blogging nonsense about my pregnancy status. I mention these only because I realize those who become well-established on the net tend to create friends and enemies alike with their networking superpower. They are exposed to scrutiny constantly. Divulging free information about oneself can get out of hand quickly. Thankfully my Mother had a neurotic fear of our e-dentity being e-hijacked by e-bandits when I was an e-baby (that is, roughly, 12 years of age). So, if you see anything about me on the internet, it is there because either I put it there, or gave someone permission to post it.

            This all being said, as I look over my various posts I realize I have actually put work out. There are credits to my name that I am proud of that were worthy to be placed on the world’s largest information sharing system. These consist primarily of information from websites such as milesplit and athletic.net, which show my times and accomplishments in Track and Cross Country, as well as my theatrical work on the pages of various newspapers and review websites. I know that these forums say only good things about me, and I am glad they found their way onto the internet.

However, this remains horribly underwhelming to me. Why? Because of ol’ Uncle Bob.

It seems like a silly thing to complain about, but peppered in with my accomplishments are those of my professional actor, writer, comedian, and overall superman of an uncle who has roughly 25 years of headway on me in terms of work worth viewing. I don’t actually mind this, but it made this assignment a little complicated to complete, because right next to the link to my Facebook account is a link to an article regarding Maynard James Keenan’s documentary about making wine. My Uncle makes some weird stuff.

            So what does this do to me? I have been driven by nothing but fear when it comes to the internet by my Mother who, God love her, was always badgering us to be careful about what we would say or do on the web. Even after ensuring her of the security of the websites and using bulletproof rhetoric like “all my friends have a Facebook,” she wouldn’t budge for many years. I know this is a rational fear, but it’s like driving a car. If you don’t do it because it’s dangerous, you’ll never leave your house. And let’s be honest, the world really is just squished down into the internet.

            I hope that someday my e-dentity won’t just be heaped in with that of e-Bob. Then again, as of right now, I cannot really say my e-dentity has any real life effects on me. Certainly not in any negative way I can think of. But as I continue to make these blog posts and create work that is worthy of viewing by the citizens of the internet, I realize there may be a new version of me emerging. I realize the sharing power of the internet, and the importance of being a good participant in it. Regardless of who I appear to be on the internet, I realize it is informed heavily by who I am in reality, and it is that person who deserves the most of my attention. For now.