Online Identity
The role
of social media in building online identity is becoming increasingly prevalent,
and in many cases it is becoming necessary in the world of more concentrated
information and technology. In many instances, it is vital to have a prominent
online identity in order to network with other companies or even apply for entry-level
jobs. From a professional perspective, Chakravarty makes it clear that online
social media is necessary and that sites like LinkedIn and Twitter, among others,
can play crucial roles to succeeding in the business world. Hanson takes this
professional perspective even further by arguing for a “Dale Carnegie
Principled” online presence, whereby simply having a LinkedIn and Twitter
account are not enough. Also important is how one conducts themselves on these
social media sites; Hanson offers tips such as “Think before you tweet” and
more simply, “Be polite.” These tips can be seen as both positive and negative,
however. On the one hand, these tips are positive because it may make your
online identity more professional and interesting to potential employers,
clients, etc. but could also be negative because in essence, it advises users
to “not be yourself.” To create an online persona geared toward business and
crude efficiency rather than creativity and basic entertainment or humor makes
it difficult to truly portray one’s personality online.
As
engaging in the online world becomes a near necessity, the problem of
authenticity versus anonymity also arises. Currently, massive social media
sites such as Google and Facebook basically set the agenda with a safe, authentic
space in which online identity is seen as an important extension of offline
identity. There is inherent in this thinking, though, a tradeoff between more securities
for less online freedom. People like Andrew Lewman, director of the Tor web
browser, which has built-in software to protect anonymity, finds the move
towards authenticity invasive and leaves no room for creativity and even the
“ability to forget [and] start over,” if desired. As the writer identified only
as “APV” makes clear in his/her article, “Protecting Your Online Identity,”
enabling myriad strategies to remain under the radar within these large social
media sites is not easy, but it is possible. In my personal opinion, I believe
authenticity is more important than anonymity: employers and other online users
are looking to learn and network with real people using only the facts which
are available, and although not everything online may be true, it is best to be
honest and authentic when interacting with others. Besides, it is easier to
build connections with people if your online identity matches your offline
identity. In the end, as many people and businesses have shown, there may still
be hope for making your online identity both professional and realistic.
I very much agree with you that authenticity is more important than anonymity online, as our online personality is increasingly becoming an extension of our offline personality. You made a point that the advice to gear our online personality only to business and crude efficiency makes it difficult to express ones true,complete identity online. I would like to add that I think having an online personality that is simply one dimensional is becoming less important, and that employers and society as a whole are becoming more accepting of multidimensional people for this reason. Humans are multifaceted in real life, so what makes us think that this wouldn't eventually be exposed online? We are often warned about maintaining a professional representation of ourselves online and that future employers are indeed checking our social media, but I don't think this means we necessary have to only be business oriented and altogether uncreative. I think that because of the transparency that social media forces, our culture will become more accepting of the different roles people have in life and the multidimensional aspect of humans. In fact, future coworkers and employers might even look to see if you are someone they wouldn't mind getting stuck in the break room with as they know they will be working with you day in and day out. The article by Willian Hanson even addresses this by saying that the way LinkedIn works is extremely impersonal and outdate, and perhaps why LinkedIn isn't doing so well. On linked in you simply send the generic message, "I'd like to add you to my professional network" without any sort of introduction or reasoning. This would unprofessional in a real world setting. There must be a consistency is real world and online personas.
ReplyDeleteI also think authenticity is more important than anonymity. The ability to be anonymous is beneficial in some cases, but I think that sometimes it gives someone a little too much freedom to do as they please online. Many people who can stay anonymous decide to abuse this power by harassing individuals or pretending to be people they are not. Authenticity ensures security and credibility, which is much more important in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteRyan, I agree with you when it comes to authenticity being more important that anonymity. I also agree with Jaimee above when she talks about the increasing acceptance of multi-dimensional online brands. Like Mark Zuckerberg says "people are multi-faceted, and pretending to be black and white is actually pretending to be something you're not.
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