Reflective Summary, Topic 2, #UOSM2008
The two week allocation for the development of Topic 2 has seen the progression of my thoughts and understanding regarding the question of multiple online identities, due to the breadth and variety of the discussion presented by my peers.
A point which I raised in my post, the use of pseudonyms, has also been focused on by others and I particularly liked the layout of Alysia Wildman’s blog where she separated the debate into two fundamental questions, critically evaluating the positives and negatives: which do you find more valuable on the web, authenticity or anonymity? Additionally, throughout the week, many articles were further shared through #UOSM2008 which I found very useful to read other people’s opinions and experiences.
In my blog post, I explained my personal choice of anonymity during my teenage years, and focused slightly more on the negative side of anonymity, in terms of possible security risks, but a comment from my peer Francesca Gerard, brought to light the positives, with the support of a very interesting article, please see here in the comments section. I still believe, and would argue, that both anonymity and authenticity can be used effectively to serve our different personal purposes and goals whilst living and working on the web. For example on one hand it is true that anoynmity can allow cyberbullys to roam the internet hiding behind an online persona, however, on the other hand like Francesca mentioned, anonymous profiles also allows one to truly express themselves and for example, provide valuable honest feedback to companies. Nevertheless, the important point of security issues still remains, and we should focus on ensuring that we are in full control of our privacy, as well as using our own better judgement and common sense to avoid any risk of connecting with somebody we might later regret.
The week started off fairly quietly as people understandably took their time to produce a well-written blog post, however, my personal learning experience took on a life of its own shortly after I clicked Publish on Friday! I valued the comment from Module Leader Lisa Harris, as it opened up new areas to explore. In doing so, I was able to further develop my understanding of the topic and, in particular, focus on the growth of ‘anonymous’ social networks. In my response, I referenced Jeanette Cajide, cofounder of Blurtt (an anonymous social network) and from there my Saturday morning was filled with excitement, as she subsequently retweeted my tweet sharing my blog post to her followers, and we were able to start a little discussion. Even though she was only passing the time whilst locked out of her apartment talking to me, I really appreciated the encouragement and the sharing of her wealth of knowledge surrounding the topic. Through the interaction I was introduced to different points from an insider’s perspective, such as, what happens when one gets married? Do you change your online identity in that case? It was an invaluable experience, and I hope I will be able to have similar interactions with professionals throughout this course, as it really does aid the learning experience and gives it a little bit of added excitement!
I recently read this article focusing on how the “King of Social Media himself” i.e. Mark Zuckerburg, seems to have done a U-turn last month talking with Bloomberg Business Week. Zuckerburg had previously stated that having “two identities was a lack of integrity.” A quote which was also picked up by my fellow peers, and so his latest statement is somewhat of a surprise. Facebook’s CEO has now admitted that it was “somewhat of a burden” if you are “always under the pressure of a real identity.” I feel like Tarun Wadwha has summed it up perfectly: “The king of social media is finally recognizing that privacy is not just some cultural relic to be engineered away.”
Or is it wishful thinking that Facebook would make such significant changes on it’s 10th birthday?
As the power of the internet continues to grow, with more organisations having access to personal details and Google searches for example, one hopes that privacy and security issues will soon be addressed.
For now, surf with caution.
