╠ Aliases and Equity ╣

So I've just gotten back from the Melbourne Beersphere as organized by Julian Cole to gather Marketing bloggers from Melbourne together and what's the first thing I do when I get home...BLOG!

Before heading to the Beersphere amongst all the nerves of meeting people so much further along my field of interest than I am, I also contemplated who exactly I should be, so to speak. Should I introduce myself by Michael, or by my alias Tannie? Being from the country I grew up there using Michael since it was my real name, however after moving to Melbourne and getting involved in manifest via its forums I've come to be known as Tannie in Melbourne.

It was an odd contemplation because since I've lived here the past few years and apart from my old school friends, most of my closest friends call me by Tannie it is probably the name I am most fond of. However in essence it is a lie not being my true name or even having a clear connection to it.

Overall I decided to use Michael since I believed this was something that could aid my future and therefore all of the brand equity that I can gain for being in such a loop should go to the name I shall use for any jobs I apply for via conventional means. However this all brings me to the point of are aliases worth it in such a sitatuation I have arrived at. I'm looking to be convenor of Manifest under the alias Tannie, yet still have to follow the normal worldly process and live the rest of my life under my real name. In essence I am splitting any brand equity that could be linked to myself in half by having two names.

It didn't overly matter in the end as Julian introduced me as Tannie anyway with correct pronunciation which is something some of my closest friends still don't get. This lead to minor confusion but was quickly resolved. However this day really got me to thinking about the worth of aliases when it comes to a situation where you may be building a repoir for yourself.

The question that I pose to all of you is whether there is actually any room for aliases when you are trying to build a professionally equitable image for yourself or whether they will simply get in the way and divide your worth?

PS: Next time I think I will just stick to the beer at the beerspheres ^^