I’m wide awake and so alive

It’s time to reveal the truth about this blog, the Facebook profile and the ‘man’ behind the curtain.

Apologies in advance for the length…

My name is Jo; some of you may know me as JOpinionated. I am not John Locke, I am not Jeremy Bentham, I’m not British and I’m not even male.

What began innocently enough as a simple social experiment to test out various LOST theories exploded into an unofficial summer diversion for very passionate fans, inadvertently sandwiched between the end of Season 4 and the launch of the official alternate reality game (Octagon Global Recruiting) at Comic-Con.

Before I attempt to elaborate, I would like to begin by reiterating that I never claimed to be a representative of or inside source from either the show or the series. That designation was initially branded upon me by exceptionally dedicated contingents who were strongly involved with a previous ARG.

Immediately following the finale of Season 4, I began to ponder the most effective way to expand the audience of my LOST blog and reach out to fellow fans during the long hiatus. I have never been one for message boards and forums, and the comments section on my site does not allow for true interaction.

From the moment I saw Locke’s shiny dome in that casket, I become slightly obsessed with researching the real Jeremy Bentham. And because I do not believe the man in the coffin to be John Locke, I wanted to explore that theory with the world (or at least those who speak my language and don’t roll their eyes whenever I talk about or vaguely reference LOST).

Frankly, I felt comfortable with and compelled by the idea of donning the virtual suit of a deceased male philosopher. And I thought it would be quite amusing and challenging to do so as a woman. So I summoned up far more digital courage than I ever knew existed, and proceeded with the creation of the Jeremy Bentham blog and Facebook profile.

Rear View Mirror: The Mistakes

Blogging

I began my journey as JB using Blogger, which was a poor choice given that my LOST site also has a blogspot address. Rather than take the risk that someone might discover that JB and I were one and the same, I relocated his blog to WordPress due to a fictionalized security breach. I also failed to do my homework; I was oblivious to the fact that a major player from a previous LOST game utilized anagrams in many of his official posts (thus, the onslaught of further skepticism regarding my true identity and intent).

Digital Tracking

I am a fairly tech-savvy person, so I should have known that I left a digital imprint with every visit to a fan site or forum. However, I was naïve and did not think that site administrators would go to such lengths to attempt to discover my real name and location.

Facebook

Admittedly, I was caught off guard by instant messaging via Facebook. Not only did I underestimate the interest in JB, I could not have fathomed the number of people who wanted to converse with him ‘live.’ I had to construct an entirely new voice rather quickly, one which spoke as a very proper, old and educated British man. If I never use the word ‘indeed’ again…

Twitter

Not only was Twitter an additional technology to maintain in his voice, I found myself unable to simultaneously ‘tweet’ as JOpinionated. I wanted to continue on as normal, posting pop culture and LOST blogs, and updating my real life via Twitter, so that no one would ever suspect me to be JB. So I prematurely discontinued his Twitter account.

Post-Mortem

Although it became consuming and overwhelming to live, speak and write as two people concurrently (not to mention that my better half started to question exactly whom she was dining with each evening), I enjoyed every IM, comment and email exchanged. I would like to thank those of you who contacted JB in any format; from the patiently curious to the outraged, your participation was inspiring.

This entire process has been a very educational and entertaining experience. I have made connections with some amazing people whom I am now fortunate to consider real friends, and hope to continue conversing and networking with those of you who befriended JB but are at peace with the reality of who he turned out to be.

In all sincerity, I had no idea when I began this project that it would reach so many people, let alone be both embraced with such supportive enthusiasm and deluged with alarmingly hostile suspicions. But I assure you that this blog and Facebook profile were created in the same spirit and fervor that you have for LOST. For those of you who felt mislead or are disappointed, that was never my intent.

Although a few kind souls have inquired whether or not I will continue the this blog after this reveal, I feel as if the timing is right to step down and out of the way of the official game (especially given that I have zero association with it and do not wish to cause further confusion).

So I am resigning as JB, but I do so with dignity, because at no time did I misrepresent myself in a fraudulent manner. I am just a fellow fan who shares your devotion to the show, as well as your desire to enjoy, dissect and analyze as much of it as possible.

Thus spoke Jeremy Bentham.

Comic-Con

To be honest, I secured my 4-day pass in February, fully intending to attend as myself and long before the creation of the Jeremy Bentham experiment. That plan and my agenda have not changed. So I will be there from tonight (Preview Night) through Saturday (after the LOST panel and USA Today Pop Candy party).

If you would like to follow my journey in San Diego, I aim to blog live and post frequent updates via Twitter (http://twitter.com/jopinionated).

Thank you for taking the time to read and absorb. I look forward to meeting new friends both at Comic-Con and online, as myself.

The ball is now in your court; whether you choose to engage with the real me or ignore my every word from here on out, I am entirely receptive to and ready for both.

- Jo

http://jopinionated.blogspot.com

http://blog.jopinionated.com

~ by Jeremy Bentham on July 23, 2008.