Identity is a perennial sort of a topic, and Activision-Blizzard’s Real ID programme has brought it back into the limelight. Unless you’ve been hanging out under a rock (which would, you know, be fine – especially from a sun-protection perspective) you’ve probably heard about A-B’s programme which is the first phase of tagging your time in Blizzard games (like World of Warcraft … [Read more...] about True names: identity, safety and Blizzard’s Real ID
identity
Identity: Linden Lab change of heart?
Your identity is defined in part by which pieces of identification you choose to share with a person or group. Every person you know does not have the same information about you as everyone else. What you share with your mother, your boss at work, your bank manager, is different to what you share with your lovers (unless there is some overlap there). You are identified by the … [Read more...] about Identity: Linden Lab change of heart?
Book Review: My Avatar, My Self
Firstly, it’s fair to warn you that I’m breaking one of my own reviewing rules here. I generally never write a review of something that I haven’t purchased. That’s a rule that I’m not in the habit of breaking, but it’s worth noting that I’m making an exception here today. If you want the short version, you should go and buy Waggoner’s book if you have a serious interest in … [Read more...] about Book Review: My Avatar, My Self
The identity paradox
Last week, we spoke about anonymity and privacy, and in so doing we brushed past the concept of identity. The problem of identity has been with us for quite some time, as a species and as a set of societies. Newer technologies, such as the telephone and the Public Internet do not make the problem harder or more intractable, but they sure do make it a lot easier to actually … [Read more...] about The identity paradox
Anonymity versus privacy, online and in atoms
Much is touted about the Public Internet and virtual environments constituting mediums of anonymity - that the actions of users are essentially anonymous and free of consequence. That's actually pretty far from the truth. There's anonymity and there's privacy, and these are two rather different qualities, and are available in quite a different mix to what common knowledge … [Read more...] about Anonymity versus privacy, online and in atoms