Topic 2: Arguments for and against on online identity.
Having more than one online identity is quite common for our existence online world. In the online community there is a big argument for and against of having multiple online identities. In this blog I would like to discuss these arguments and offer my thought on this topic.
Many of us have multiple of online identities that because the online community force us to have more than one online identity.
Figure 1: Online Identity
Users go to online to do their daily stuff like banking, pay bills, shopping or online chat etc and the service provide want to identify users uniquely so they create a profile for us Ornbo (2007). However, this create much more difficult job for us. First more than one online identity and how to maintain those. Then much more difficult to remember all the usernames and passwords.
Then author also suggest that if there is a system in place that will maintain our one online identify and share that between all other service providers will reduce online users to have more then one online identity. See the example is Figure 2.
Figure 2: Ideal Online Identity
The idea is all online users will have only one online identify and other service provider like EBay, PayPal, online stores etc will access that information for a specific user, that way it make easier for user to maintain online identity and all the other online accounts is linked from that.
However, there are so many other service providers don’t want their customer’s online accounts to be linked for example in one hand we have HSBC, Lloyds TSB or Halifax banks will not want their customers accounts to be linked with Facebook account for security reasons.
On the other hand I have design a website for my clients who had two social identities one for his business promotes, offers & sales etc and other one for his family and friends and he does not want both account to be join together. Also social network like Facebook provide that service where one user can have more than one identity.
Now it become a difficult to differentiate to have one or more online identity, well I think its personal choice. If the user want to have only one account and share the profile between other providers then that fine, but have to keep that in mind now you are giving more information than they wear required.
Where if you create an individual account for each service then you are only giving the informing they need nothing extra.
References
Ornbo, G. (2007). Moving your online identity. Available: http://shapeshed.com/moving_your_online_identity/. Last accessed 22nd February 2015.
Willison, S. (2015). OpenID. Available: http://openid.net. Last accessed 22nd February 2015.
