I have been on the web my entire working career. In the early days it was mainly just a communication tool and a way to find information on how to do this or that on your PC. Then along came this, this, things like this and most importantly this.
But what has all of this got to do with the title of the post?
Well there is a fundamental shift I have noticed in my usage of the web over the last couple of years. I used to be known on various sites as hugatree152, getalife965 etc. But much more recently I am now known more widely as Michael Yolland. There – I said it, I came out. But more important is the fact that newcomers to the web are not creating names like needtohide666, but are putting themselves out there publicly. I am not talking about the social networking phenomenon here at all. I am talking about the small niche-focused sites that define who you are and what you are really interested in.
To me that is a major shift in and reflection of the impact that the Internet has had and will continue to have on society.
But does it matter that we are now talking to ‘real’ people and not just someone we can identify as ‘X’ via a cookie we dropped 11 months ago? If it does make a difference how will we know that Michael Yolland is interested in sailing as well as clever tricks he can do with CSS when we don’t/won’t share his identity. I want to be free on the Internet and get value from my new found freedom but, with all the walled gardens around, there are few options available to me. I get the feeling that from a business perspective we are getting to the edge of the value that can be extracted from knowing me as ‘X’ and need to move forward and embrace Michael Yolland. But to do that we need to give initiatives like this and this our full support. They may not have the answer yet, but they are going in the right direction.
Is it risky relinquishing control over ‘X’? Possibly. But without risk, there is little reward in it for Michael Yolland or your business proposition.
October 9th, 2008 at 10:27 am
I certainly agree that there does seem to have been a major shift. But is it quite so black and white? People have various personas which they use every day and while they do not necessarily hide the other personas when using a particular one, they prefer to use the one they have chosen at the time. (and how is that for a convoluted sentence). An example might help. If in the real world I am a furry fetishist people might be well aware of who I ‘really’ am but in context of being a furry i.e. at a convention or party, I would prefer to be known by my furry persona. Similarly when online in certain contexts I might prefer to be known by an alternate e.g. when in Second Life.
The opportunity here I think is to be able to provide a ‘central’ point for the various personas. Something with the solidity of open id but with the flexibility to accommodate different personas. If fact going as far as to say something which provides the level of legality to back up a digital signature.
This central point could provide the necessarily authority behind the furry persona yet at the same time not necessarily breaking the illusion being created by the context?
October 15th, 2008 at 1:06 pm
“Then along came this, this, things like this and most importantly this.”
I’m lazy; I didn’t click on those links. Perhaps you could use the words in the title tags of those websites when you link. It counts as a better link to those sites — better value to them — and your readers will know what or whom you are referring to.
About your post:
I think Facebook started the change you’re referring to; before Facebook, I also used many personas. These days, I am mostly Joy-Mari Cloete or joycloete. I like.