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How many people are you online?

Digital Identities The concept of digital identity is becoming increasingly important in society (Costa & Torres, 2011). In the past, one’s online identity could be detached from real life, however, in recent times the two have been more interconnected (Krotoski, 2012). Digital identity has become so important that a person’s digital footprint could affect job hunting if employers and recruiters find undesirable content amongst candidates (Jacobs, 2013). Continue reading →

Single online Identity, versus multiple online identities, versus total anonymity

Authenticity is a key argument made for the benefit of having just one identity. It stands to reason that if everything you post online can be easily attributed to you, this makes everything you post appear more trustworthy because it’s tied to your reputation and credibility, it’s also easier and less time consuming to manage just one identity, (Futurelearn, 2018). Continue reading →

Single Identity vs Multiple Indentites

Social media can be risky. As Justine Sacco found out, a single unfortunate tweet can throw your career off track (Ronson, 2015). However, with 40% to 60% of employers using social media to screen potential employees, it’s not reasonable to stay off it either (CareerBuilder, 2014). Continue reading →

2 people living in​ 1 body – Online Identities Topic 3

Types of Online Identities Figure 1 – Online Identities on Biteable. Created by Will Jones, 2018 (Sources: University of Southampton, 2017; Costa and Torres, 2011)   Figure 2 – Map comparing the 3 online identity types. Created by Will Jones, 2018. Sources (Henry, 2012; University of Southampton, 2017) I have multiple online identities which are aimed at specific audiences. Continue reading →

Who are you? An exploration into your online self

Executive director of Tor, Andrew Lewman, stated “the ability to be anonymous is increasingly important because it gives people control, it lets them be creative, it lets them figure out their identity and explore what they want to do, or to research topics that aren’t necessarily ‘them’ and may not want tied to their real name for perpetuity,” (Krotoski, 2018). Continue reading →

Who are you? An exploration into your online self

Executive director of Tor, Andrew Lewman, stated “the ability to be anonymous is increasingly important because it gives people control, it lets them be creative, it lets them figure out their identity and explore what they want to do, or to research topics that aren’t necessarily ‘them’ and may not want tied to their real name for perpetuity,” (Krotoski, 2018). Continue reading →

Better Than Life

There seems to be a disagreement online about whether we want online personalities to imitate real life or not. Some people want to have a single identity, visible to everyone, that reflects their life both at home and at work, and holds no secrets from anyone. They say that this gives the most authentic impression of a person. But the idea that this mimics how we behave offline is nothing short of farcical. Continue reading →

Topic 3: Singular vs. Multiple Online Identities

What is an Online Identity? 60 billion online identities in today’s World (Versace, 2014), but what does it really mean to hold one? The short introductory video below aims to summarise some definitions and terminology. Dekkers (2018) created using the software Powtoon Information from Costa and Torres (2011) Making informed decisions is crucial when establishing your first or an additional online identity and it is personal preference that determines how many to possess. Continue reading →

Topic 3: Singular vs. Multiple Online Identities

What is an Online Identity? 60 billion online identities in today’s World (Versace, 2014), but what does it really mean to hold one? The short introductory video below aims to summarise some definitions and terminology. Dekkers (2018) created using the software Powtoon Information from Costa and Torres (2011) Making informed decisions is crucial when establishing your first or an additional online identity and it is personal preference that determines how many to possess. Continue reading →

Topic 3: Singular vs. Multiple Online Identities

What is an Online Identity? 60 billion online identities in today’s World (Versace, 2014), but what does it really mean to hold one? The short introductory video below aims to summarise some definitions and terminology. Dekkers (2018) created using the software Powtoon Information from Costa and Torres (2011) Making informed decisions is crucial when establishing your first or an additional online identity and it is personal preference that determines how many to possess. Continue reading →

You can’t impress everyone…can you? Using Multiple Online Identities vs a Single Online Identity

One of the results of the Web 2.0 and the rise of social media has been identity construction in online settings. In the late 90’s and early 2000’s scholars studied ‘online’ identities versus ‘offline’ but in the last decade the surge in use of social media has meant that the distinction between personalities on and offline has started to blur (Cover, 2015). Continue reading →

You can’t impress everyone…can you? Using Multiple Online Identities vs a Single Online Identity

One of the results of the Web 2.0 and the rise of social media has been identity construction in online settings. In the late 90’s and early 2000’s scholars studied ‘online’ identities versus ‘offline’ but in the last decade the surge in use of social media has meant that the distinction between personalities on and offline has started to blur (Cover, 2015). Continue reading →

Your Online Identity – Topic 3

Your online Identity is an actively formulated presentation of yourself in the digital world. This  can be accurate to your true self, or contain cherrypicked information in order to tailor your profile to a certain need or context (Costa & Torres 2011). After exploring the MOOC Course I discovered the differences between single and multiple identities, shown below. Below I analyse the specific pros and cons of using single or multiple identities (FutureLearn 2018). Continue reading →

What’s your digital identity?

Introduction One’s online identity is becoming ever increasingly important in society. This comes in recent years with the lines between one’s professional, personal, and online identity becoming inextricably interlinked (Krotoski, 2012). For example, having a professional online identity through LinkedIn or running a personal blog can help secure employment opportunities (The Employable, 2014). Continue reading →

Thousand (online) Faces.

  With the boom of social media, a digital society is made. An increased number of people are using various social media platforms to stay connected to their families and friends, as well as to establish networks with colleagues and business partners. This is when a question comes into the scene: How many online identities should one have? Online persona(s): one or many?   Stay anon An alternative is to stay anonymous. Continue reading →

Thousand (online) Faces.

  With the boom of social media, a digital society is made. An increased number of people are using various social media platforms to stay connected to their families and friends, as well as to establish networks with colleagues and business partners. This is when a question comes into the scene: How many online identities should one have? Online persona(s): one or many?   Stay anon An alternative is to stay anonymous. Continue reading →

The Clark Kent’s of the Internet World

“In the olden times, privacy was good. Today people want to share” (Mark Zuckerberg, 2010). But, is sharing our entire thought stream online ever really a good idea?  Justine Sacco would probably argue, no. In 2013 after tweeting a racially insensitive message to her mere 170 followers, she boarded a plane to South Africa. 11 hours later she turned on her phone to find her tweet had gone viral and her life lay in ruins. Continue reading →

Personal v Professional Online Identities

  Presentation on our online presence differs for each individual, and much of this is based on our digital differences (see my previous post) (Future learn, 2018). Unlike online life depicted by Peter Steiner in the 1990’s, with use of social media on the rise (Office for National Statistics, 2017), hiding your online identity has become increasingly difficult. Continue reading →

Topic 3: “The creation of even one single account marks the beginning of our digital self”

Image from asset protection law journal At least 90% of my friends have more the one Instagram or Facebook account, whether it being a business one, or one to post food on or ones they share with multiple friends. By having more then one account it allows them to post in anonymously without others realising who it is. Continue reading →

WHO are YOU?

“Different sites.   Different audiences.  Different purposes” (Boyd, cited in Lee, 2016).  Multiple identities online are increasingly common reflecting how heterogeneous humans really are.  They are now so common, that having a single identity is considered confining (Lee, 2016).  I must admit, prior to being introduced to this topic, I never really considered multiple identities, as I have only single identities for each of my social media accounts (see below). Continue reading →