Case Story: VirtualIdentities

Summary	How can one keep virtual and real identities separate or deal with the point where they become intertwined.
Group / workshop	Digital Identities	Status	seed
Project details...	Rhizome project

Situation

What was the setting in which this case study occurred?

Using Second Life as a space for exploration and identity play and over-time finding the environment also becomes a professional space for work-based activity.

Task

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

To deal with a shift in my virtual identity from one that was originally psuedonymous and separate from other online identities to one where professional activities uncovered the virtual identity and link it to the history and existence of my personal one.

Actions

What was done to fulfil the task?

In this case self-monitoring (restricting activities in-world) and conducting a review of where my virtual identity was displayed e.g. my and other Flickr accounts, my and other blogs. In Flickr I have used the privacy settings to maintain a distinction between public facing professional activities and personal ones. I have also taken advantage of the fact that in SL it is also possible to create an "alt" or a second avatar and so create a new personal/play identity that can act as an escape from the burden of the professional profile.

Results

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

Containing and monitoring the virtual identity is possible and understanding the risks of working in an environment such as Second Life are valuable in knowing what may and may not be construed as damaging to a linked professional identity. I have two "alts" that are used occasionally. The key issue here is that with hindsight I would probably have created two identities straight away - personal and professional - the difficulty is when one identity has already become established - letting go of that identity is difficult. I do not necessarily want to try and maintain multiple persona - the overhead is too high, simply in terms of time and effort.

Lessons Learned

What did you learn from the experience?

When we use the same technology for both and work and play it is hard to maintain any separation between identities in that single space when the use of the space changes to include both and one identity has already become established inside it. Second Life does allow the creation of separate virtual identities in the form of alts but maintaining separation across other social media can be more difficult, for example if those identities are being scaffolded through Flickr.

Summed up: when we start to use a technological space it is worth considering whether it will remain purely personal, purely work-based or a mixture of both. It can be disconcerting to find a space that was initially used in a playful, non-formal manner suddenly inhabited by one's professional life. Particular when many technologies lay bare a past history in the form of timelines and traces of activity.

Licensing

This work is licenced under a Creative Commons Licence.