nonionay | In which I wax philosophical

This is all totally fascinating and thought-provoking. (The comments, too!) Thank you.

So, thanks to media and branding and twitter, etc., we can expand ourselves--our identities, our influence. I think the idea of comparing that to a more stereotypical image of someone with a cool metal arm is fascinating. That metal arm might be able to expand and reach across the hall to tap someone on the shoulder. Or, I could open a chat window and ping that person, all without leaving my seat.

Now, my brain is wandering. (which is why I like articles like this.) Are we the things we leave behind? Is a throwaway tweet about my donut like a footprint? Certainly an accumulation of both tells a story to those who choose to follow them. And surely we are our stories. (And the more we extend ourselves, the more metphorical arms we reach out to be yanked around by. Someone could follow my footprints to my location and stab me in the back. Obama sticks his nose into society, and someone makes an Evil Muslim Clone.)

Likely, it has to do with conscious identification. I take my footprints for granted, and choose not to consider them a vital part of my identity. It's all just persona, right? I am my persona, but I'm not only my persona. When people identify with their persona, it's a bad thing. These people are what is known as "shallow." That's what happens if Kanye were to think of himself only in terms of his media power, and forget that he's also a guy who likes teddy bears and bringing his mom breakfast in bed, (or whatever things he did before he became a superstar. I know diddly about the guy.)