This is part 2 of a 2 part series on Online Identity Challenges. Check out part 1 here.

LeVar Burton, one of the coolest guys from my childhood (Reading Rainbow people…! NOT Star Trek!), just started blogging the other day.

Awesome!

But what’s so interesting is how it “all came to pass.” You see, it was Twitter that led him to blog. It was online identity theft on Twitter that led him to Tweet.

Either Own It or the Masses Will

We must “own” our identity, and empower others to do as well.

Just like in the Christian life, we cannot borrow or coattail our parents’ faith, our pastor’s faith, or anyone elses. We, at some point in our walk, must own it.

This happens in the online space more than ever now. Read some of what LeVar had to do deal with:

I joined Twitter because it came to my attention that there was someone who was impersonating me! Actually pretending to be LeVar Burton.

Now, I must admit to being no stranger to social networking sites and am certainly aware of the number of “fake LeVars” on MySpace and Facebook and I know you can’t control that kind of thing… but!

It really bugged me that this “person” had convinced an impressive number of people following his every post or Tweet as they are known in Twitter Dom, that he was me.

So with the help of the good folks at Twitter, the ‘fake LeVar Burton’ got kicked to the curb and I reclaimed my inalienable right to speak for myself!

Either you must take ownership of your identity, brand, and equity or the masses will do it for you. This applies not only to the individual but also the ministry and organization.

Now, certainly you can’t possibly control everything and there is even some wisdom in just staying “offline” completely. But, for many of us (if not all of us) this isn’t an option. But it’s better to be on the “offensive” (as one person recently recalled to me) than be on the “defensive.”

It’s simply better to not be in “reactionary-mode” as much as you can. A conscious decision needs to be made whether to do it or not. But don’t sit. That’s the worst place to be.

So make a choice, do it, follow through, and be brave. The cost of “not doing anything” could be extremely damaging.