Matt Malette is coming out from behind the at sign.

After nearly three years of carefully guarding his anonymity, he's going public as the creator of the popular Twitter feed @AlbanyArchives.

He's a witty chronicler of the capital city's history, and he's accumulated more than 2,400 followers for his pithy posts and historic photos.

He's also the curator of a popular website, AlbanyPostcardProject.com, drawn from his collection of some 300 vintage postcards from around the Capital Region.

He also happens to live in Colonie.

"But I'm only three miles from the city line," he said.

Overly sensitive to being labeled a carpetbagger and concerned about how his employer might react, he kept his hobby on the down low.

"I didn't even tell my parents," said Malette, 35, senior graphic designer at Time Warner Cable News Ch. 9. He's worked there since 2002.

The secret slowly leaked out. Friends figured it out because of his frequent references to favorite movies and shows "Ghostbusters," "Back to the Future" and "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles."

The jig was up with his boss when he made yet another reference to his beloved Muppets. His work desk is covered with Muppets toys.

More Information Albany scavenger hunt To learn about the Albany I Spy historical scavenger hunt, to go www.albany.org/ispy or the Twitter hashtag #albanyispy Contact Paul Grondahl at 518-454-5623 or email pgrondahl@timesunion.com See More Collapse

"Your Muppets gave you away," his boss said.

It's been a burden to try to stay anonymous.

"It was time to go public," he said.

He grew weary of doing interviews incognito, including a photo shoot with a cut-out historic image of John Boyd Thacher masking his face for a Q&A with Brianna Snyder in 518Life magazine. "History's Batman," he called himself.

It got cumbersome to ask the Albany Public Library staff and other groups to preserve his anonymity when he got involved in local history programs with them. It seemed more than a little peculiar to arrive with a bag over his head for meetings of the Albany Heritage Tourism Committee that he was asked to join.

"It's a lot of hard work trying to stay anonymous," he said.

He can show his face this week as the impresario of Albany I Spy, a historical scavenger hunt with visual clues. It's done in conjunction with the Albany County Convention and Visitors Bureau. The fun concludes July 18 with a party and prizes at Parish Public House in Albany.

Going public turned out to be his only viable option.

His wife, Megan, a teacher at the Center for Disability Services in Albany, shrugged when he started the Twitter feed anonymously. She shrugged again when he unmasked himself.

"I'm not much of a history buff and I'm not on Twitter," she said. "But Matt's very excited about it all, so it's fine."

He brings son, Nicholas, 8, and daughter, Cameron, 4, along on field trips to photograph and explore local history sites.

"Cameron likes it, but Nick isn't that interested," their mother said.

Nothing has cooled Malette's ardor for local history. He was born in Albany, grew up in Syracuse and spent his formative years there. He holds an associate degree in TV production from Onondaga Community College.

He still regrets he didn't go on to pursue a bachelor's degree and perhaps graduate studies in history. He long dreamed of being a history teacher.

He serves as a kind of surrogate history teacher through @AlbanyArchives.

He has acquired at garage sales and antique shops a selection of historical reference materials. His go-to source is Joel Munsell's indispensable and unparalleled multivolume "Annals of Albany."

"I knew next to nothing about Albany when I started this," he said. "The city is full of fascinating history. I felt people living in Albany didn't know their own history, and they should."

The impetus to start the Twitter project was when he came across a reference to the fact that John Wilkes Booth and Abraham Lincoln were in Albany at the same time on Feb. 18, 1861 — but by all accounts did not encounter each other. Malette was floored by that historical happenstance.

"I had never heard that story and I felt people ought to know about it," he said.

Typically, he posts three or four historical nuggets each day on @AlbanyArchives.

Some days, his enthusiasm runneth over and he can pump out as many as 20 posts.

His favorite posts, about Lincoln's and George Washington's visits to Albany, can generate as many as 30 retweets and favorites on Twitter.

The AlbanyPostcardProject.com website usually generates 7,000 to 8,000 views each month.

So far, it's a labor of love. None of the ventures are generating revenue.

He thinks local history has commercial potential, though. Malette plans to launch a YouTube channel later this month with local history segments.

He's going to sell T-shirts and the first one has a slogan: "We're Glad Thacher Here."

That pun may induce groans for some, but it's indicative of Malette's brand of humor.

He traffics in history viewed through a prism that toggles between wide-eyed and tongue-in-cheek.

"There's so much cool history around here," he said, more than once.

"Everyone has at least a passing interest in local history," he said. "It's my job to make it interesting. You have to know what's behind you to go forward."

pgrondahl@timesunion.com • 518-454-5623 • @PaulGrondahl