Creating an Online Identity - Part I

Hello, my name is Matt Scheurer and I would like to welcome new visitors to my blog. For those that never heard of me before, or mostly knew me by name only, that was by design. I was perfectly content to quietly live out my life, and etch out an existence through hard work and professionalism alone. My personal life generally included family members and some long-time friends. Occasionally, I gained new friendships through people I met and grew to trust over time. My personal beliefs as a strong personal privacy advocate kept me from putting myself out in the public eye for most of my life.

Very recently, things began to change in my professional life. The changes in my professional life started to bleed over and affect my personal life. After much personal reflection and reevaluation, I concluded that I should implement changes in my life to achieve my own personal goals. Life brought me to a crossroad of choices and decisions, and for the fist time, I decided to try a different route than the path I knew. While preparing myself for new ventures, a longtime coworker decided to retire, and I attended their fare thee well party. While conversing, with a couple of other friends at the going away party, they encouraged me to create an online profile at LinkedIn.com. While I told my colleagues I would check out the site they recommended, I was secretly not enthusiastic about the prospect of joining a social networking site. As I created my online profile and added connections, I began to realize the value and power of knowing people and having a professional network of respected colleagues to validate my knowledge and work ethic.

My heart significantly shifted from where I was at the very beginning of the year, and the time for shaking things up is now. For too long, I preferred anonymity to acknowledgment. I settled for the serenity of a job well done instead of the spotlight. Had I not settled for mere contentment, which lead to complacency, my life would be more rewarding. While I cannot change the past, I took control of my current situation. I am improving my involvement in my public outreach each and every day. Now that I understand the beauty and power of establishing my name to the general public, I plan to make up for lost time.

My first series of blog posts are dedicated to my journey. I learned a lot in a very short period of time and continue to do so. My goal is documenting the steps along my journey. My greatest aspiration is that my story proves helpful or inspirational to anyone in a similar situation. My intention is writing weekly updates on different topics related to the steps for establishing an online identity and maintaining that presence. I am happy to share what I learn and I pray my efforts result in a positive impact for my readers.

Thank you again for visiting, and please allow me to reintroduce myself. My name is Matt Scheurer, and I am a technologist on a mission to carve out a better life for myself, using the blessings and talents bestowed upon me.