marketing your name
polycounter lvl 18
i've had the tag killingpeople for a while now. i've gone by killing kp kill and killnpc. a few instructors have mentioned concern through the years with my email address [currently kill.npc at gmail] and online name turning away potential employeers. i thought it was cool, but i guess some people are funny that way. well, i've heard it again recently from my career adviser. it's just that i like the name and it's been around for a long enough while that people are begining to associate my work with the name. i will more than likely create another email address that has a more professional appearance and use both identities in a way.
what do you think?
should i just stick to one? i know i'm over analysing it, but is there any negatives to this i'm not seeing? i guess i was just rather taken aback when asked to change my name to something 'nicer'.
you guys have silly names. when you market yourself to companies, which identity do you use?
what do you think?
should i just stick to one? i know i'm over analysing it, but is there any negatives to this i'm not seeing? i guess i was just rather taken aback when asked to change my name to something 'nicer'.
you guys have silly names. when you market yourself to companies, which identity do you use?
Replies
Otherwise go with your real name, I guess.
Edit: Actually I think a real name is easier to remember, since people are better trained at remembering normal names (doesn't apply to forein names though), than just another generic 'internet name'tm.
Anyway, I've decided to create an email addy with my real name. I used one of my web hosting services for the email, so I know for sure my name is available
But, no, having an online nick like "killingpeople" is not hurting your chances of getting a job.
Which reminds me, you're graduating soon, right? Has anybody snatched you up yet?
now you wouldn't want an employer reading that one do you, lol
When I first started using online chat rooms, I thought "heck everyone else is using nicknames, there must be something to this." I thought maybe it was also a privacy thing, a stab at anonimity. So I grabbed an abbreviation from work. But nicks are not anonymous, communities generally find out who people really are, it isn't hard.
I'd rather use my real name, since people tend to get an understanding of someone from their posts, and I'd rather have that associated with my real name than not.
Besides, nicknames have an adolescent tinge, which doesn't always go over well with the more serious types. Game devs are generally progressive, but managers tend to be more conservative.
"What do you do?"
"I do art for video games."
"What's your online name?"
"Killingpeople."
Now, there's also the excellent example of Mr Mathis and the coprophagic suggestions of his handle. But I think you have to consider Ben's personality and his rep as a wacky dude. He's comfortable with it.
I think that's the key thing: your comfort level. If you're okay being known as 'that people killing guy', then that's your trip, baby. But if you're not, consider another. It's all about you!
Consider another local example, "Hooker With a Penis". Right, Noel?
/jzero
I'd veer away from 'killing' anything in your email though. My 2 cents.
1) When I first signed up for the name (many moons ago through prodigy for net access 14.4 baby oh yeah it was smokin!). I had to spell it funky because vigilante was taken. The nerve! The mispelling lead to just about everyone I know telling me I spelled it wrong, followed by my explaination why I had to do that. Followed by "Oh... you should get a new name you haven't use prodigy in years".
2) When I started playing games that had voice com, most people called me Vig. Because asking "V-i-g-i-a-l-a-n-t-i flank the left side" took too long.
3) Most people don't know what Vig stands for so it becomes a little personalized which is better than "vigilante1337". It also takes all the danger out of my net nick so I don't come off as a "poopinmymouth" "hookerwithapenis" "Ish!tinskulls" kind of guy. Which if that is your name and you like it, more power to ya. I would rather not deal with my name giving me more crap than I already get.
On a side note, when I was responding to customer email support requests we always snickered at the "isuccoc4lif@hotmail.com" & "ihavatinywang@yahoo.com". It was always awesome when they didn't put thier name in the email so you had to respond "Hello Mr isuccoc4lif..."
Almost my full-name, but short enough to allow me to use "brome" when I game/chat/etc.
I know when I applied to Lodestone, they didn't even look at my portfolio because of my URL, and the guy who I found this out from told me that now that he had visited my site, if he'd have actually looked at my work back then, they would have hired me. So it can bite you in the butt, and sometimes it can turn off people. If you find that no one is biting, maybe you should look into alternate names. However I seriously doubt that you are going to have any problems finding work Killzorz.
Like Jzero said, it's all about your comfort level.
Also, real names are boring. I didn't get to choose mine, and I know you didn't either. A nick is a fun way to choose an alterego, something you think reflects your personality and is easier to remember and more unique than "Robinson", "Mathis", "Ben", or "Cory". Real names are corporate and business like, and I say screw that. I hate what becoming more corporate and businesslike has done to games, and I'm not gonna contribute to it. FIGHT THE POWER!
- BoBo er um I mean Brian or something....
because as many have found out the hard way, once you take a nick it sticks for a very long time. so if you're going to change, some derivation is a good idea. i personally think KP is as good as any.
MoP is/was the name of a rap group, I believe, but they're not very good.
MoP is not a reference to the Metallica song, Master of Puppets.
People in real life call me "mop" from time to time, I don't mind, actually I'm mainly used to it.
and really you dont have to worry at all about what your name is for a job all that really matters is the color choices and design skills presented on a webpage.. i cant stress this enough.. nobody and i mean nobody wants to hire a GAME artist with no webdesign skills.. simple fact.. dont even worry about your game art.. just your flash and dreamweaver skills.. hands down the only factor in getting a job in the industry..
I tend to rely on my personality to put people off hiring me, not my name he he
:P
my nick is my real name.. well my middle name.. thats what you get when you have hippies for parents..
and really you dont have to worry at all about what your name is for a job all that really matters is the color choices and design skills presented on a webpage.. i cant stress this enough.. nobody and i mean nobody wants to hire a GAME artist with no webdesign skills.. simple fact.. dont even worry about your game art.. just your flash and dreamweaver skills.. hands down the only factor in getting a job in the industry..
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did i already say i love ya?
Doesn't KP stand for peeling potatoes, in military jargon?
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I'm pretty sure it stands for Kitchen Patrol, which ment you peeled potatoes.
And I am now thinking of going with the Z rule and changing my name to Viz. On second thought it's the name of a lighting program used in Half Life. I remember wrestling with the damn thing trying to solve thousands of errors it would spit out, I would rather not remember that...
I decided to just be me a few years ago, and I have to say the Rick Stirling on the interweb is pretty much the exact same as the Rick Stirling in the real world.
Some would say this is a loud mouthed drunken bum. and they may be right. The real Rick is just as likely to gatecrash your house at 4am demanding booze.
Daz: Brilliance! From now on, I shall go by the name... Asz
perhaps I'll just stick with my alias for now -.-
Hmm...
Sensible people might be offended even or god knows what, lots of weird people in this industry.
Basically, you're selling yourself, figure out how you want to market yourself, and how you want to be perceived. If your nick (be it in the URL or email) is the first thing they see from you, you probably wont make the best impression you could.
ha, its all true!
The 8th floor seems so much quieter without you Poop! Congrats on Gun!