Comments | athelind: Life in these Untidy States: They've Given You A Number, and Made You Think It's a Name

athelind

Life in these Untidy States: They've Given You A Number, and Made You Think It's a Name

Nov 13, 2011 10:19

It is a classic trope of science fiction that In the Future, We Will Have Numbers Instead Of Names.

In almost every instance of this trope more recent than Ralph 124C 41+, this is a sure sign that you live in a dystopia. It suggests a world in which human concerns are devalued, and society itself is engineered to make it easier for a large, ( Read more... )

nothing to lose but our chains, bohica, roleplaying myself, economics, the revolution will be digitized, boingboing, true names, warning, general semantics, secret id, heresy, security, semiotics, magick, the terrorists have already won, untidy states

Comments 4

araquan November 13 2011, 19:05:45 UTC

I fully understand what Google and Facebook are after- which is why I've pulled out of Google+ and my Facebook account in my really real name has always been (and probably always will be) a placeholder. I've thought of adding a couple photos- maybe some selected train stuff- but only to make it look a little less like one in case a prospective employer should stumble upon it. I guess you're not the only one who finds occasion to roleplay yourself, eh?

araquan November 15 2011, 20:22:13 UTC

Addendum, from a Charlie Rose interview with Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg:

Facebook COO Sandberg talked about the power of relationship-based networks, contrasting "the wisdom of crowds to the wisdom of friends."

"So that's Google versus Facebook right there," Rose replied.

Sandberg didn't agree. She thinks the entire first phase of the Web's development -- which led to "a lot of wonderful things" -- was largely based on "anonymity and links between crowds."

The next stage of development, the one Facebook has spearheaded, is built around identity. "The social Web can't exist until you are your real self online," Sandberg said. "I have to be me, you have to be Charlie Rose."

Also, article here.

athelind November 16 2011, 13:27:21 UTC

The logical fallacy, of course, is the conflation of "real self" with "legal name". You can't be your "real self" if you're always wondering, "what if my boss Googles me?"

I am my "real self" online, and my "social Web" is woven among those who know me as "Athelind" and "Your Obedient Serpent".

That other name? That's not my "real self", Ms. Sandberg. That's my banking information, and I know why you want it.

avon_deer November 13 2011, 20:47:26 UTC

I never signed up with G+, despite many of my friends doing so for EXACTLY the real name issue. Aside from the fact that not many people here know me by my real name anyway, I thought the INSISTENCE on it was sinister.