Who am I?

Apparently, I am not the only one who wants to know. Merchants from coast-to-coast are creating algorithms to try to figure out how they can sell me stuff. Facebook wants to cram my page with content. Amazon wants to suggest titles for me to consider. Of course, this is not a new phenomenon. Since the dawn of time, even before they called it advertising, folks were trying to peer into one another's souls to see how they could extract something that would give them the edge.

Today, as the sophisticated society we have become, we can create formulas to try and determine what others want. My mission, as I see it, is to flummox these efforts.

I don't want Amazon to tell me what to buy. I don't want Facebook to put things on my page I've not asked for. I don't want Twitter to tell me whom to Tweet. All of this makes me want to pack my bags and hop off the grid for awhile. I don't want to be transparent. I want to be bohemian, eclectic. More than the sum of my labels: Wife, Mother, Liberal, American, Manager, Sister, Daughter, Writer, Reader.

Therefore, I actively seek to put a wrench in the salad, as they say. I order books from Amazon for other people. Whenever possible, I will hide random posts by Facebook and label them "spam," just to keep them guessing. As for Twitter? I think I'm doing well there. Suggested tweets yesterday were for Pee-wee Herman and the Dalai Lama.

My goal is for my online presence to resemble my home. Lots of random tchotchkes, tons of books, and no real theme. When they come looking for me, they'll get more than they bargained for.

Happy Hunting, Elmer!