I’ll come right out and say it: Ever since high school or so, I’ve been a total sucker for personality quizzes. You know, the type with all sorts of useless psychobabble and acronyms, the sort that have adorned livejournals and MySpace pages since the late ’90s. There’s just something inherently fun about pop psychology.
So imagine my joy when I discovered a little application called Typealyzer, which analyzes the writing in a person’s blog or twitter, weighs the language choices and writing style, and gives a quick personality assessment. You can check for an archetype or a persona, and remember – this sort of tool is just for fun, and no substitute for a few hours on the proverbial couch.
Of course, the first thing I did after annoyingly emailing all my friends their apparent personality types was run a few popular celesbian blogs through the wringer. The results were highly amusing and almost certainly not fully accurate, but hey, you never know.
First, I applied Typealyzer to Rosie O’Donnell‘s cryptic R blog. The result was rather confounding, describing the fearless, opinionated O’Donnell as a “Duty Fulfiller,” who is “especially attuned to the details of life and careful about getting the facts right. Conservative by nature, they are often reluctant to take any risks whatsoever.” Maybe poetic musings just go down differently in the database.
I had a great deal more luck with Ellen‘s new Twitter, which painted “our leader” as a “Doer,” and, “The active and playful type… especially attuned to people and things around them and often full of energy, talking, joking and engaging in physical out-door activities.” That sounds more like it, Typealyzer.
I also applied the web voodoo to the lovely Bridget McManus‘ Twitter, and the Typealyzer claimed that the Brunch With Bridget star is a “Mechanic”: “The independent and problem-solving type. They are especially attuned to the demands of the moment are masters of responding to challenges that arise spontaneously. They generally prefer to think things out for themselves and often avoid inter-personal conflicts.” It even offered up a little career advice: “They enjoy adventure and risk such as in driving race cars or working as policemen and firefighters.” I think there’s an episode of Ghostella there.
Finally, I ran myself through the process, using the most recent installment of The Weekly Geek. Guess what? I’m a Doer – just like Ellen. Any website that compares me to the world’s most successful (and amazing) lesbian earns a special place on my bookmarks bar.
