Web Identitiesby

Azita Najibi & William Francisco Smith

December 2007Collaboration in Networked EnvironmentsGraduate Media Studies NMDS 5326 A CRN: 6364Instructor: Josephine Dorado

Networks constitute the new social morphology of our societies, and the diffusion of networking logic substantially modifies the

operation and outcomes in processes of production, experience,

power, and culture.

While the networking form of social organisation has existed in other times and

spaces, the information technology paradigm provides the material basis for its pervasive

expansion through the entire social structure.(Castells 1996:469)

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Before the advent of the Internet there was art.

While identity got obscured through art• From realistic portraits of rich art patrons• To abstract art of the 20th and 21st century

Identity on the Internet became clarified.Identity on the Internet became clarified.

• • From pseudonyms such as foxysexy21From pseudonyms such as foxysexy21• • To realistic portrayals of ourselves constantly To realistic portrayals of ourselves constantly

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When communication became a trend.

It is an innate need to communicate, hence the grand leaps in telecommunications.

Car phones, pagers, mobile

phones became symbols and

trends. They weren’t only there to

assist communications, instead

they went the extra mile to

communicate something about

you.

Personality and personalisation was attached to products:

For example: what mobile phone you own and ring-tone you have says something about you.

Online identity became an extension of ourselves, similar to the way our clothing, demeanour, and appearance says something about who we are in the real world.

Avatars in games like Second Life, personal branding and profiles on web sites like and , say who we are to the entire virtual world.

We are moving from modernist calculation to postmodernist simulation, where the self is a multiple, distributed system

(Turkle 1996:148)

The Internet and the Construction of Contemporary Identities

The identities that emerge from these (Internet)

interactions – fragmented, complex, diffracted

through the lenses of technology, culture and new

technoculture formations – seem to be …more

visible as the critters we ourselves are in the process

of becoming, here at the close of the mechanical

age.

(Stone 1996:36)

In the story of constructing identity in culture of simulation, experience on the Internet figure prominently, but these experiences can only be understood as part of a larger cultural context.

…From scientist trying to create artificial life to children ‘morphing’ through a series of virtual personae, we shall see evidence of fundamental shifts in the way we create and experience human identity.

…In the real-time communities of cyberspace, we are dwellers on the threshold between the real and the virtual, unsure of our footing, inventing ourselves as we go along.

(Turkle 1995:10)

1. The Internet is harmful.

2. The Internet is positive.

(Baym, Zhang and Lin 2001)

What does the research to date have to say about the Internet and the possible transformation of self?

There have been two major stances on the Internet’s social effects on one’s identity and integration into the larger social world:

Negative

The Home net study (1998) and

The Internet and Society Study of Nie and Erbing (2000)

These two studies argue that the use of the Internet challenges traditional relationships, lessens total social involvement, increases loneliness, and depression

(Burnett and Marshall 2003:66)

Positive

The UCLA Center for Communication Policy (2000)

andThe Pew Project on the Internet and American Life (2000)

1. Internet users spend more time with clubs and volunteer organizations than non-users.

2. Internet users were more socially active than non-users.

3. Online Americans say their use of email has increased the amount of contact they have with key family members and friends.

(Burnett and Marshall 2003:67)

Personal Web Sites

Prior to web pages, only the privileged—celebrities, politicians, media magnates, advertisers had access to the mass audience.

(Dominick 1997:647)

Online self presentation provides a level of information control that is not normal in real life interaction.

(Burnett and Marshall 2003)

How do people represent themselves via web pages?

People used links on their home pages as a means of social association, so that by providing a set of links to other sites, people indirectly defined themselves by listing their interests.

(Dominick 1999)

Web based invitational strategies, identifying the following: feedback mechanisms—email, guestbook, vertical hierarchies—the position of items on the page top to bottom, personal expertise, external validation—awards, direct address and personality.

(Smith 1998)

What about our identity attracts us to the web?

1. Our identity may not be attached to our physical bodies.

2. Our reconstruction of our identity is elusive.

3. We can blend private and public aspects of our identities.

4. Gender is at the center of identity construction.

5. The web is an elaborate hub for the formation of new collective identities.

(Burnett and Marshall 2003)

Conclusion

The convergence of the Internet and media is changing the way people interact and represent themselves.

The internet cuts across geographical and time lines that were previously impossible and opens a new space in which to interact.

The Internet is providing immediacy and interactivity, and as a result, collaboration has become fundamental to using the net.

Conclusion

In addition, ‘users’ are finding their voice and distinguishing themselves through branding and personalization of their identities.

Our virtual identities are not only an extension of ourselves, they are better versions of ourselves

Conclusion

The Internet has given us a "second chance" if you will.

So much about online identities is trying to market yourself in a way that is better than who you are in the real world, simply because on the Internet you are given better marketing tools.

You can work on your profile for hours, fine tune your avatar for days, and add a number of cool features promoting your tastes. And, all this work is for millions to see.

For all these reasons, online identities have moved towards a second reality—a second life.

Conclusion

We are yet to know what the changes in our online identities and internet use implies to society as a whole, but we feel the changes that will occur—overall, will generally be positive.

Among other things, the Internet is decentralizing traditional power structures and empowering users at the grassroots level, providing opportunities to give a voice to the voiceless for the benefit of society.