Case Story: A cat among the pigeons

Summary	Do we really need DI?
Group / workshop	Digital Identities	Status	seed
Project details...

Situation

What was the setting in which this case study occurred?

This is my contribution to the Digital Identities workshop hosted by Eduserv at the British Library on 8th January. As part of the This Is Me project team at Reading University, I have been required to investigate other people's news and views on digital identity, as well as contemplating my own - a task which has singled me out as someone who does not have, and does not want a Web presence among colleagues and contributors who do.

Task

What was the problem to be solved, or the intended effect?

When I began working on This Is Me, my project managers were keen for me to set up accounts on various social networking and blog sites (Facebook, Twitter and so on) in order to create a digital identity for myself, and investigate some of theirs. How much information could I uncover about them? How much of that information was contributed by themselves, and how much by others interacting with their postings? And what sort of things would I be prepared to share about myself online?

This proved something of a personal challenge for me because I had made a conscious decision not to have a digital identity because a) I'm and intensely private individual and a bit of a control freak to boot, and b) I have very little interest in sharing details about my life, pictures of my family, or even my opinions with the online community!

Actions

What was done to fulfil the task?

After registering on Facebook, reading blogs and unearthing some interesting stuff through various Web searches I began to contribute to our project Web site thisisme.reading.ac.uk mostly, it has to be said, as the voice of dissent on DI!

I have also interviewed academics, and find myself having frequent conversations with friends and family about how they use digital identity. My Facebook account, as I suspected it would, remains pretty much unused except to send a Christmas message to a friend whose email address I had lost!

Results

What happened? Was is a success? What contributed to the outcomes?

The data gathering I'm involved in has thrown up some interesting ideas, and even challenged some of my own about the uses of digital identity. I have thus far, though, not felt compelled to expand my Web presence beyond the boundaries of my professional role.

Lessons Learned

What did you learn from the experience?

I can see how, for many, having a digital identity enriches their lives; puts them in contact with a world (or even worlds if you're a Second Lifer) of new people; can be an essential tool of self-promotion; can channel different aspects of their personalities; or simply allow them to demonstrate their parental pride by posting lovely photos of their children on Flickr. But it's still not for me.

Interesting and thought-provoking though it may be, nothing I have uncovered so far in the course of our research has induced me to reconsider my position on my personal digital identity - it is simply not something I feel I need to make space for in my already busy life.

Licensing

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