I hate going to conferences or speaking to classes and getting the question, “So, is ‘Michell’ your maiden name?” No, actually. It’s my middle name (pronounced ‘Michelle’) and I was stupid to start using that for my global username from the start. So I just changed my Twitter handle to @laurenrabaino. Yes, it’s a few characters longer, but it’s something I’ve needed to do.

The quick back story: I started using “laurenmichell” as a username for various accounts in high school, back when it wasn’t quite cool to use your first + last name. It was a middle ground between anonymity and true identity, and the spelling of my middle name is unique enough that I was able to grab that handle (mostly) everywhere.  After using it for a few years, I’ve been scared to change it.  Continue reading →