It has only been a week of #etmooc and I can already tell a difference.  A difference in how I will connect with people online in the future.  I’d like to think of myself as technically savvy person and getting setup for something like was going to be a snap… not true.  I made a decision early on to start from scratch by creating a new email address, new twitter handle, joining a new G+ community and creating this blog in the name of keeping myself organized.  However, something strange happened each time I created a new username.  There was a lot of pressure in creating a new online identity.  I first wanted to use my real name, but of course that was already taken.  Then I spent so much time thinking of a clever nickname, which was also taken.  Clearly I’m equally as not clever as tech savvy.  The biggest challenge was finding an available username across all these platforms.  The pressure was increasing as a steady stream of notifications overwhelming my phone with people making their presents known to the community.  Then finally it happened when all the pieces fell into place to form my new digital self and @tpkbrenner was formed.  But great, now I have a username with nothing attached to it… hardly an online identity.  This is where #etmooc comes in and I find myself at lurks end.  Even though there are over a thousand people involved in this community it provides a structure to focus attention on sharing ideas.  There is something comforting about having a common thread and will give this lurker the ability to jump.