What My ScreenName Says About Me

    For those who might not have seen it, Karen Hobbs has a blog where she pondered what your ScreenName says about you. Where did it come from, what does it mean, how does it relate to you as a person. Quite a few of your fellow JoeUsers have left comments answering the question. I'm going to do so here instead. That way my regular readers will get to see it. (And I'll also get at least 3 times the points. Ain't I a stinker?)

    (ScreenName is really an AOL term. Handle, Nick Name, User Name, Login Name, are terms more commonly used on the 'net at large. But that's the term used in the original article, so that's the term I'm going to use.)

    Usually I just use my real name as my ScreenName, but I felt like using a handle here. Something to do with my original intent of blogging for the purpose of linking to my website. I thought it might give me more search engine credibility if my name (which is also the website url) weren't splattered all over the place. (Then I go and put it in the sidebar under my picture. D'oh! Kind of blew that, huh?)

    Even before discovering JoeUser, I pondered options for a ScreenName, eventually settling on WiseGuy. (I like run-on sentences, don't I? More accurately run-on and on and on... sentences.) The pun-like dual nature of WiseGuy appealed to me. It could mean a guy who is wise, but also a class-clown-like smart ass. (The third connotation of a Bronx goomba eluded me till just now. Whoops.)

    I find JoeUser, deem it the best blog site I've seen, and select it for my first blogging adventure. Time to create an account. Horrors! "WiseGuy" is already taken! Now I'm left with a half completed account creation and no name. Considering how frequently this happens, you'd think I'd create alternatives just in case. But no. Once more I must stress my panicked brain for another choice.

    Looking for variations on WiseGuy, I fairly quickly seize upon SmartAs. That might work... Smart as this, smart as that. Plus it still had the dual connotation of WiseGuy. (Considering WiseGuy had that third mob connection I never thought of maybe it's a good thing it was already taken. Just what I need-- an Italian guy calling himself WiseGuy. And it only took me 6 months to notice....) I continued looking, but kept coming back to SmartAs as the best option. Then came the clincher. Spell it with a "z." Since I currently live in Arizona that would give it a third meaning! Ooooo, a triple threat. That did it. The rest is history.

    So, SmartAz means "Smart As...," "Smart Arizona," and (last and least) "Smart Ass." Unfortunately the last one is the only one people seem to pick up on. I'm actually beginning to regret my choice. It doesn't lead to one being taken seriously. Maybe I should have went with SmartAs anyway?

    Yours,
    Gene Nash