So I am struggling with the issue of online identity. This is partly due to several different personal philosophies, but it also has a lot to do with personal history. Reconciling the different issues surrounding this decision has led to the worst result possible-no decision at all! So here is my attempt to deconstruct the problem.
In terms of philosophies, I believe in honesty and transparency, and standing behind what you say, do, and write. I also believe that privacy is an illusionary robe with which we cover our social nakedness in our increasingly interconnected society. Anything we do publicly could be seen all over the world by millions in an instant, and we only make this all the more likely when we put it on a computer ourselves. And the work it would take to prevent someone from determining the identity behind a pseudonym is not worth the effort for me. So basically, I believe that I should not be putting anything on the internet that I don't want anybody knowing came for me.
On the other hand, I see benefits to a pseudonym that has nothing to do with privacy. A creative and descriptive pseudonym is simply good marketing. It captures not your entire identity, but that part you want to share with an online community. It also distinguishes you from digital interlopers and provides virtual "street cred" because crafting an online identity is what the digital culture does. Adopting the pseudonym is an act of inclusion and revelation, done on your own terms.
How does history apply to this question? I have been involved in online communities for 20 years, the earliest social media service I remember being ICQ. I have lurked and participated in online chats, discussion forums, and blogs longer than much of the current digital generation has been walking and talking. In that time, I've assumed a number of different identities. I just feel very indifferent to crafting yet another. Two of I choose to separate my social identity from my professional one. Just thinking about it exhausts me.
Time for breakfast.
Very creative breakfast! :)
ReplyDeleteI would like to add my concern about my privacy on the Internet. I don't use pseudonym because either case I wouldn't share something which I am not comfortable with. Because it doesn't matter if you are using pseudonym or not, if you share your privacy, it means there is some information which can be linked to you. But I am concerned to regret to have shared some information about my private life in the future. What if I am comfortable with sharing something today but in the future I will regret it. There are a lot of examples of this. So I try to be careful.
I agree with what you say, but I offer this alternative perspective. We put things out there about ourselves in our in-person interactions. This information can be shared without our permission, and in the sharing often gets distorted. At least online, we can defend ourselves. We can say, "No! That's not what I wrote! It is completely distorted. Here is the link to prove it!"
ReplyDeleteExcellent point! Think "Telephone" or just bad high school rumors.
DeleteIt's a complicated issue, for sure. I think that we all need to manage our own (dis)comfort by adjusting our choices and actions accordingly, and we need to recognize that our feelings/positions may change over time.
ReplyDeleteWe also need to be respectful of others' positions and desires.
I think another thought to add to this discussion is alter egos. Sometimes you may want to post as a part of your personality, or a job, or a way of thought. I wouldn't want someone to google my name and the first thing to come up would be my thoughts on cooking if I am getting hired for a job. However, I can still share my thoughts if I include a pseudonym. Yet, I don't see why I can't share that it is I, in fact, that is sharing cooking info, for example. It would just be harder to link and may not be the first thing that pops up on a Google search. If this makes any sense...
ReplyDeleteKatie, you hit on part of the reason people use pseudonyms. I know a professor who writes romance novels under a pen name. She doesn't hide it from the colleagues she with whom she works, but if someone Googles her name after hearing a lecture she gives at a conference, they do not need to find her list of fictional works, they want her academic ones. This keeps from muddying the waters, and makes sense. It's not a shame thing, it keeping different aspects of one's life separate and distinct.
ReplyDelete