from http://www.dreamstime.com/royalty-free-stock-photos-digital-identity-image2962388
A lot of last week’s discussion touched on issues of digital identity, which is cool because it gives the course an extra level of flow and cohesion. There seemed to be quite a bit of concern over privacy, which is hardly inappropriate these days. But that video talked about eliminating your digital footprint – Is that necessary? Is it even a good idea? People will Google us – when we apply for jobs, after we meet them, after they hear something about us … What does it say about us if there’s nothing there?
Digital identity is something we can build, and therefore control, at least to some extent. We can put our best foot forward, we can share our thoughts and interests… just like we do in real life. Because it is real life. That’s what I see in danah boyd’s interview. I like her points that Facebook is weird because we end up showing the same face to everyone – something we don’t do in real life – and Snapchat make perfect sense because some things aren’t meant to be preserved.
In the readings, a different take on the issue came up, from a technological perspective. That brings up issues of authentication and security on the network level rather than the personal. I’m not sure that I expected that to come up in this week, but I’m glad it did. It’s another example of how multi-faceted all these issues are.
