Have you been keeping track of your virtual self on these numerous sites? Do you really need to maintain all of them?

There are certain sites which simply delete your account if you have been inactive for a specified time. The old favourite Yahoo! Group sends out reminders to inactive participants to remind them if they still want to remain a member.

Not all sites are this efficient. A site which became popular about three years ago when it offered “free” SMS service from Internet to mobile phones, SMS.ac, will still send you information even years after your last log in.

There are significant benefits in keeping track of your online identity. Firstly, you should reevaluate which sites are useful. Then do away with those that are flooding your inbox with spam. A simple approach to deleting unnecessary accounts is to figure out where you want to participate actively.

Secondly, when dealing over secure sites like e-banking or e-shopping, changing the username and password might seem like a hassle, but at least, you will make it a bit harder for identity thefts to occur.

Apart from changing the data regularly, just make sure you also devise an easy way to remember the changes. Moving on, sites that promote social networking and real-time communications are becoming quite important to keep in touch with family and loved ones. Certain facilities, for example, like the instant messenger service are already becoming an accepted form of business communication. Thus, you may want to update your nickname. Instead of charging on as “Ilovebean_78”, you might want to change it to a respectable “John_Doe” so that your business contacts and clients feel more confident when chatting with you.

On another note, updating your profile on sites such as online survey and recruitment firm will also benefit you in the sense that the site will respond proactively to reflect your latest status.

If you had recently job-hopped to venture in a different career path, an online survey site might include you in a new target group, while the recruitment site will also adjust your “value” in the job market.

Even updating the latest information on your attachments, location or hobbies might bring you little pleasures. For example, while on Friendster, adding “curling” into your list of pet sporting activities might bring you closer to like-minded individuals.

While there is no guarantee that cleaning up your presence in the cyberworld will lead you to life-changing events, you can still have fun revisiting all the sites you’ve mingled in before. So enjoy the experience, give your online profile a good “dusting” for a fresh start in 2008.