Mistaken identities

So I recently discovered googlefight.com (thanks to Salam Pax for blogging about it, such fun!!), which eventually led to me discovering that I have a homonymous doppelganger in Internet-land. S/he is also named wurdnurd in various online communities, yet does not appear to actually read anything. S/he is obsessed with David Cook, and I mean OBSESSED (hell, I only just discovered that David Cook and Dane Cook are two different people!).

I'm not going to harp on this person's lack of taste, culture or awareness. Sure, it bothers me when someone fancies themselves to be something they are not (i.e., a wurdnurd who is clearly illiterate...no, I kid...sorta), but I'm not one to really seriously judge another person's taste. A famous quotes for bookworms: never apologize for your reading taste (I believe this is attributed to Betty Rosenburg). In the same vein, never apologize for your taste in music or obsession, but be prepared to be mercilessly ridiculed for them. :D

Actually, what kind of gets me is that people in certain communities think that I'm this other wurdnurd. Clearly, I'm not. I chose the wurdnurd moniker (which is my handle in Myspace, Twitter, Shelfari, the LOL sites, anywhere else I need to log-in with a handle and, of course, my domain) because it reflects my particular obsession, which is books, reading, and the pursuit of knowledge. Hell, yes, I feel posessive of this name, as I felt it to be a unique identifier of my online (and, to be honest, offline) persona. It bothers me that this person is using a name that clearly doesn't correlate with his/her particular interests, and I am suffering the fallout of that, with folks finding, following and/or contacting me online because of the wurdnurd moniker and thinking that I am this someone else.

I know it shouldn't bother me, but it does. It bothers me more than when someone asks if I'm related to a particular jack-hole late night host because we share a last name. It bothers me more than being serenaded with Sarah Smiles, Sara (Fleetwood Mac or, more often, Jefferson Starship) or the Sara Lee jingle. It bothers me more because I did not choose my first or last name, but I did carefully choose my online handle. Back in 2007. Back before this poser decided to coopt my name and start causing me headaches. Back when I though the name was unique and reflective of a bibliovore, a lover of books, a literate consumer, a obsessive reader...not a David Cook fangirl/boy.

Sigh. My mom was right, I should trademark the name and just be done with it...

Ok, rant over. Peace out, Seacrest (d'oh!).