Just say yes to controlling your online identity

I read a few articles recently that got me thinking about the life cycle of one’s presence on the Web.

One article provided a couple of sites (Namechk and Knowem) where you can enter a username/handle/vanity URL and automatically check for the availability of that name on 100+ sites.  So rather than trying to go to a bunch of different sites to see if your preferred ID is available – or carrying around 5 different handles – you can do your research in one place and (hopefully) select a name that you can use consistently around the Net.  As an added benefit, you can link out to each of the sites to see what they’re about.  Even the most dedicated Social Media Geek among us probably can’t identify all the sites listed.

Knowem even has a service where you can have them establish profiles with your preferred name on all the sites for a flat fee, and they can automatically set up profiles on new sites as they’re launched and/or added to their database.  Cool.

At the other end of the Web life cycle, how do you try to take back control over your online presence when much of what you put online sticks around for a very long time?  One article provides 10 helpful tips to become “Web Dead” over time.  Suffice it to say that this takes a whole lot more effort than birthing new identities, though.  Of course, the best solution to this conundrum is to “Just Say No” to excessive and potentially embarrassing internet excess, but that’s far easier said than done, eh?