Two and a half decades have passed since my first email, marking my first digital footprint into this world. So many years later, I finally managed to properly sanitize my digital identity. Here is my story.

1996
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The year I join Computer Engineering & Informatics Department (CEID) at University of Patras. Primitive internet, Netscape Navigator, Solaris... funny times.

Every student is getting a free email university address as a perk. So... one day I receive a message, like everyone else, with credentials to my first email address:
nbasili[at]ceid.upatras.gr

This is a cornerstone moment, as a SysAdmin (unsure who), takes the initiative to create my first username ever: nbasili

I guess his thought process is something like this:
“Nikos Basiliou” (actually it is “Vasileiou” but who cares...) -> “NBasiliou” -> “nbasili”

His decision though, would unconsciously mark my digital identity for the next 25 years. 

I become a co-founder to a computer gaming and 3D graphics startup and as a company we acquire eyelead.com domain.

Time of a company email right? Guess what.. why change a decade’s habit? Thus my second email address is born:
nbasili[at]eyelead.com

I use this as my primary email, slowly leaning away from the university one, given that my studies are over.

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Company email is fine, but you can never marry companies, so it is time for a personal email brainstorming, under a new disrupting email provider... Gmail!

Great opportunity but guess what? Habit is a habit... let’s claim nbasili[at]gmail.com... damn... it is already taken... why not append my year of birth and get done with it? After all, putting numbers was popular back on the 2000s. So... my third email is born:
nbasili78[at]gmail.com

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A pivotal year, as I leave my startup behind to join Transifex and... time for a new corporate email. I am given the initiative to claim my own Transifex email. Guess what? Habit is a habit! Looks like nbasili[at]transifex.com is a great idea.

A few days later, CEO raises the bar and wants something better than that. Bingo! Guess I needed a push to break up with nbasili username after all. I claim vasileiou[at]transifex.com. Woohoo! I finally get rid of this ludicrous “b” in my surname.

CEO still not satisfied, “I need something simpler” he says. After seconds of heavy brainstorming, I say to myself: “nikos[at]transifex.com could be a great option, but what happens if another Nikos joins Transifex? Why not plan for the future and be proactive?”

This way nikosv[at]transifex.com is born: small, future-proof, perfect. Guess what? 8.5 years later, no other actual “Nikos” has joined Transifex. Premature optimization? Over-engineering? Well.. still a good email address.

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With the tremendous psychological help from Transifex, I am finally ready to break up with that SysAdmin. It is time for my personal email, nbasili78[at]gmail.com to be reborn, but.. creating another Gmail is too much of a hassle. I need a boost.

2020 is the year Hey.com is launching, a radical new approach to email, a refreshing experience from a company with great culture.

This is the defining moment and the opportunity I am looking for. I head over to hey.com, determined to do it right this time. After all, I am an early adopter and I have great chances to claim a clean email username: nikos[at]hey.com...

BANG! This email is taken... Dammit... ok, let’s give it another shot: nikosv[at]hey.com... aaaaaand.. “Welcome to Hey!”

I made it! 25 years later, it feels so right! A personal email I can use and share without shame. Clean, small, memorable. Proud!