I like attention. I like getting it and I like the results I get when I give it. I wouldn’t say I’m an attention-seeker, but I do like the idea of creating something original - a post, a photo, a comment, an idea -and receiving credit for it.

For the past year-plus, I’ve created posts, photos, comments and ideas behind the mask of the pseudonym “DrumsNWhistles”. The net result of that has been that “Drums” has received whatever attention she’s gotten for what she’s done, but the attention is fleeting, because there is a layer of unknown between me and the creation.

I’ve come to understand that identity is important, too — a fundamental ingredient in the ‘attention’ recipe.

Here’s a recent example: The photos I posted to Flickr on Sunday morning of the Moorpark fire smoke were picked up by NewPublic News as part of their fire coverage. (Visit that link, because my photos are peripheral to the story but there are some amazing photos on there worth seeing — citizen journalism at its best).

I thought that was cool. Shared with the spouse, who asked if I was given photo credit under my name or my pseudonym. When I answered “Pseudonym”, he shrugged and said it was cool, but it wouldn’t advance any aspirations I might have to sell my photos or get them published one day.

Attention becomes inattention because of masked identity. I see that when I comment or write on another blog post — there’s just not the same level of credibility with a pseudonym. This is different from message boards, where names seem to matter less than conversation.

So I’m coming out of the closet. At least with regard to my first name. You can’t have my last name and you can’t have my kids’ or husband’s names. But you get my real, honest-to-god first name, a name that I couldn’t possibly invent. You’ll find it on my new link blog on the left sidebar, at the top of my posts, and on my Flickr profile (where it’s actually been for nearly a year).

So that we have it all in the open, here’s a lesson on how to pronounce it: It rhymes with the word “merrily”. It is not pronounced “crawly” (yes, it’s been done), or “caROWlee”. It always begins with a “k” and ends with an “i”. I was supposed to be named Karen Joy but my mother was on drugs when she gave them my name so I turned into this. Actually, that’s the jokey way I introduce it — it’s really an effort to combine my mother’s, father’s and a family name into one female-sounding name that resembled the name of a dear family friend on my mother’s side of the family. (But I really was supposed to be Karen Joy — that much is true.)

I like my name. It’s unique — an attention-getter. People don’t remember it at first but ultimately they make the connection. I’ve never been shy about using it, but reticent about associating innocent parties like my family with my penchant for self-disclosure and opinionated writing. So be gentle to them.

And if my clients fire me, don’t diss me for writing paid content, because it may be the only thing that keeps us out of the poorhouse.

- Karoli

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