I tweeted that I would name this blog post thusly so here it is!
If you’re reading this then you know that I’ve been “Kiari” online for a bit of time now. I consider it my online name and I began using it in 1997, its first incarnation on AOL. A year later, I scooped up kiari.com and here we are, almost twenty years later and I’m still “Kiari.” It might not be my given name but it’s the name I gave myself when I started my online adventures.
Whenever a new place starts online, I ALWAYS start with my name (and it’s almost NEVER available) then Kiari then Walelia. If I’m fast enough, I almost always get Kiari (Instagram, Facebook) otherwise I get Walelia (Twitter the most prominent). No one ever really cares that I’m Walelia but there are times here and there when I get inquiries about Kiari. Most of the time I do not respond, especially if it’s in regards to my domain but when it’s Instagram, I am sometimes compelled to reply.
The latest inquiry came by way of Instagram. A young girl named Kiari messaged me and basically demanded that I give up my name so that she can have it. Her logic was that since Kiari isn’t my given name and it is hers, then she should have the name. I took a look at her profile and she looked like a teenager, which means that even though she was given the name Kiari, I’ve probably had it for longer. I managed to keep it polite with her and she eventually backed off. Still, I found it a little annoying.
Here’s the thing, the internet is basically first come, first serve when it comes to profile names. And telling someone they must give up their profile name is just plain rude. Such are internet interactions sometimes, I suppose. Just to be clear, I will not give up any of my online profile names. And I especially will not give them up to someone who wasn’t even alive when I started using the names…
Tyler was in Santa Rosa today (Sunday) but we didn’t go. We’ll see him next month and I’m trying not to feel too bummed to have missed him and the gang. Alas!
LAST BABBLE
Remember that model who blocked me? She made her Instagram private so that only her followers can see her pictures and Instagram stories now. I find it odd and interesting that she resorted to such measures considering most of her posts were of her “modeling” and not much else. Strange, don’t you think? Well, now I don’t have to see her face unless he posts her and that’s just fine by me. Still, I find it curious that she’s locked down her one social media account…
And that’s all I have to say about that…