This is perhaps the first time I ever want to answer one of WordPress’ Daily writing prompts :-)
The title of this blog is what Google says, if I search for my nickname. This has not changed in more than 10 years.
So, I have not been a branding genius exactly. Nobody will ever find me, even if elkement would become famous.
My nickname is an amalgam – of my first name and my long-term internet nickname Subversive Element. I am the Subversive El(k)ement … which does not explain much either!
It was the early 2000s, shortly after dotcom crash. I was an aspiring junior manager – a techie whom they considered to be manager material. I attended management trainings, and we read cool new books about how the internet will change our lives, business, and the galaxy as we know it – such as The Cluetrain Manifesto.
Markets are Conversations.
Hyperlinks are Subversive.
There it was, the magic word! We – the wannabe managers – liked it! How could we be more subversive? Yes, get a domain with subversive in it! And an early precursor of this blog was born, weird and text-only, white letters on red background. My recently posted physics-inspired art was a tribute to this!
But where is the actual story? Back then, personal websites were rare. Having several domains even more so. It was very easy to go viral, but I did not notice immediately. I never actively marketed the subversive content. There were no social media, after all.
So, this came as a surprise: I was visiting a new client for the first time (after a brief stint as a manager I become a techie again), a reputable company. Downtown office.
There was another techie consultant, from another software company. I had not met him before.
He greeted me with: You are the subversive element, right!?
Of course, this meant this nickname was forever!
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