Eli Pariser got me thinking about online identity.
In his book, The Filter Bubble, Pariser raises some very interesting points about personalisation of the web, among other topics. (I could fill whole blog posts with the ideas he raises.) The central idea of the book though is personalisation of the web, particularly through the increasingly ‘intelligent’ algorithms being created to tailor the web to individuals, keeping us in a personal filter bubble.
The point that got me thinking is that Facebook‘s desire to personalise the web, through it’s Like button and ‘So and So Recommends’ signals an end to online anonymity. It also brings an end to the type of personal identity fragmentation which, up until now, was seen as a necessary way for people to manage their social and professional identities online.
Let me explain…
Like a lot of people, I have a number of social networking profiles online, which I try to keep to the basics:
Linkedin for my professional life
Facebook for my friends and acquaintances
and Myspace for my songwriting and for my music image.
*SHAMELESS PLUG ALERT*
(Just an aside, I play music, so feel free to visit the site and check it out.)
As a musician, I have had stalkers in various shapes and sizes, from the harmless hick fans who like to show their loyalty, by espousing little known facts about me to the ‘I have your phone number and we will jam together, whether you want to or not!’
When I first dabbled in Myspace, I found it necessary to create the alias Anna Kaye for the purposes of playing music. No-one who knew Anna Kaye would know that I write books or that I trained as a primary teacher. That wouldn’t be good for my indie/hipster identity!
This post is outing my multiple identities by the way!
But all that aside, keeping up with my fragmented web persona is actually increasingly tiring. I’m sure I’m not the only one who experiences this. As Pariser points out, pretty soon prospective employers and prospective dates will see that you endorse McDonalds, or maybe, that you unlocked the ‘Bender’ badge on Foursquare (I was playing gigs, not drinking, promise!)
The thing is, managing multiple profiles or identities and trying to keep them separate will become increasingly harder, and it will be particularly hard to remain anonymous as our web lives become more and more personalised.
Minority Report? The surveillance age is well and truly upon us, and we volunteer our personal information. Particularly frightening is all the geo-locating that is going on, but that’s a blog post for another day…
What are your experiences?
You can watch Eli’s TED talk here: Eli Pariser on TED
Mashable‘s tips on how to manage your online identity/identities.
