Some thoughts on identity

[andrewducker]

Having been using Facebook for only a few days it's already obvious how different its approach to identity is from most of the internet, and particularly from that of Livejournal/MySpace.

Livejournal is the domain of open pseudonymous communication - everyone in it has a self-chosen identity that can bear as little (or as much) relationship to their real life as they choose. You can have multiple separate identities for different facets of your personality, or indeed for entirely fake parts of it. Some people may know who you are, if your real-life friends crossover with your LJ friends, but there's no requirement for this at all.

Facebook, on the other hand, is based entirely on people's real-life identities. People use real names, not usernames, and are encouraged to create links between each other. When you "friend" someone you can define your connection, including who it was that introduced you. This information then has to be authenticated by the other person before you're actually linked. This contrasts strongly with LJ's badly misnamed Friends system, where you can't prevent someone from listing you as a "friend", and have no way of noting who on earth WobblyGiraffe74 actually is, how you know them, or why you originally friended them. In addition, Facebook's allows you to tag photos with the names of the people in them, acting as another confirmation of who they are.

A Facebook ID isn't a "real" identity, in the same way that a Passport (supposedly) is - you've only been authenticated by a group of your social peers, and while creating a fake identity would be a lot of effort, it wouldn't be impossible. But even after a few days I'm much more comfortable trusting that a Facebook identity is real than I would be with almost any other kind of virtual identity.

(This isn't to say that Facebook-style is The Future, or anything like that - I think that pseudonymity is a vital part of LJs culture, and if you want most people to really open up and talk about things then having a mask to hide behind is damn-near vital.)

Comments

[0olong.livejournal.com]

It's an interesting approach, isn't it? It's the only online community I've been part of which even encourages real-name use since I was active in the Compuserve Science/Maths Forum a decade or so back, and even then there was nothing except The Rules to stop you lying about it.

An old school friend of mine who I got back in touch with recently (after googling for them) did a PhD on anonymity and trust on the internet...

[surliminal.livejournal.com]

Wow I'd like to see that PhD..

[0olong.livejournal.com]

Ah, looks like he's got it online since we last spoke about it! The link's on this page.

[surliminal.livejournal.com]

Oh bizarre . he was at WEIS with Ross Anderson in 2004. I was there in 2006 and know Ross Anderson. How very Facebook. Incidentaly, can I facebook you?

[dalglir.livejournal.com]

In an age of identity theft and online fraud, I *love* LJ and fear Facebook. Paranoia looks really silly right up to the point where someone you know gets ripped off in a really big way.

[cx650.livejournal.com]

As may be guessed from my publicly available e-mail address I didn't even think of "pseudonimity" when I joined LJ.

[andrewducker]

What information are you worried about?

It's not like your phone number and address are up there for anyone to see...

[andrewducker]

You may notice that my phone number and home address are on my info page, as I feel likewise :->

[laserboy.livejournal.com]

Didn't someone steal your face and use it for a "Terrorist?" postcard not so long ago?

[andrewducker]

Yes, but I'm not going to spend my life under a rock in case someone decides to use a photo for amusing purposes again.

[laserboy.livejournal.com]

I wouldn't saying "amusing" as much as "actionable"! :-)