Virtual Reality, Identity and Transcendence.

Our identities are formed through a feedback loop between our visceral sense of self and the reflecting chamber of the external world. There is an ongoing interplay between our projection of self to others and the affirming or contradictory stories others project back at us us.

Over the course of life, the flexible and fluid emergence of our human potential becomes increasingly constrained by an accumulating legacy of personal history. Both our own sense of self and the way we are perceived by others become more fixed and less amenable to change. Although it is certainly possible to recreate oneself at any point in life, it is not simply a matter of acting to modify one's own behavior. It is very difficult to develop and maintain a "new you" when friends, family and colleagues continue to respond to the "old you" they are used to. This is why people who leave their hometown to forge new lives can quickly fall into old patterns when they come home for the holidays.

Pseudonymous identity lets us temporarily step out of the mutually reinforcing feedback loops outlined above and transcend some of the psychological, cultural and interpersonal constraints. We don’t merely leave our hometown behind, but also escape the socially defined feedback and presumptions associated with physical form, nationality, economic status, etc., including those we have internalized.

The power to escape the legacy of the past is even more pronounced in avatar-based pseudonymous identity that is grounded in active participation in virtual worlds. It not only allows us to redefine ourselves, but also to create new feedback loops with those we meet through the new identity. For instance, I suspect that many virtual world artists and designers who are perceived to be very creative individuals within Second Life, lead very different offline lives and are not viewed primarily as “creatives” within their physical world social circles.

Just dabbling In virtual worlds doesn’t actualize the transformative potential of avatar identity. The mind-altering power of virtual worlds is not realized until both the virtual environment and those we meet within it become as psychologically real as physical world experience. Then it's possible to begin expressing new dimensions of human potential through the avatar persona. To complete the circle, the new attributes developed within the virtual world can then be integrated into offline life.

Currently, the creation of a deeply realized virtual world identity can take a lot of time to achieve. Especially for one's first breakthrough immersion experience. And even after crossing that psychological line, the perceptual reality of the virtual sphere and one’s virtual identity will fade without consistent reinvigoration.That’s why a transition from screen-based to VR mediated virtual world experience should have a profound impact on pseudonymous virtual identity.

VR-based experience that provides instantaneous and more fully realized immersion is bound intensify the identity-shifting potential of pseudonymous virtual identity. If VR eventually becomes the new standard interface for virtual world experience, the identity-morphing potential of virtual worlds and avatar identity should become more pronounced and more widespread. (Assuming we’re not going end up exclusively using wallet name identities with avatars that mimic our physical world form.)

From the time an early human figured out she could use a stick to dig up insects to eat, people have been extending their biology through technology. From the phonetic alphabet to the digital computer, each new medium radically transformed human psychology and culture. As Marshall McLuhan wrote, "We shape our tools and afterwards our tools shape us.” If avatar embodiment in 3D virtual worlds eventually becomes as common and pervasive as today's use of cell phones and social networks, it will be fascinating to see how this bleeds over into wider culture.

Reflections on Six Years of Virtual Identity

Enhanced compilation of a Twitter micro-rant on the theme of "identity"

I used to think of "immersion" as the state of being psychologically embedded within a 3D virtual world such as Second Life. But upon reflection, the more compelling experience for me has been my immersion in "Botgirl Consciousness." Channeling Botgirl over the last six years has allowed me to explore and enhance a wide range of emergent personal attributes and practical abilities that I've integrated into day-to-day existence. These range from enhanced skill in writing, videography, comic creation, social networking and public speaking, to a more fluid ability to respond as the spirit moves me in any environment.

Virtual identity is so ingrained into my everyday existence that it feels natural. It's just another dimension of my personality, not qualitatively different from the contextual roles I play as parent, spouse, employee, etc.

Botgirl's Stages of Virtual Identity Awareness

1. Virtual identity is a fabricated persona we make up.
2. Virtual identity is an emergent psychological phenomenon arising from our subconscious.
3. Virtual and physical identities are both emergent psychological phenomena, reinforced by external feedback.

The perception of any person as a static identity is largely fictional; a psychological misinterpretation of the continuity of memory. Although our newborn, grade school, high school and senior citizen selves have little in common, we think of them as being the same person because we tie everything together through a running narrative starring ourselves as the protagonist. The philosophical questions that arise from thinking about virtual identity have encouraged me to apply them to all forms of identity.

Of course, people experience virtual identity in different ways, ranging from absolutely no difference between atomic and virtual personalities to a severe split. On the extreme, I've met people who claim that their avatar personality has preferences, characteristics, beliefs and goals that not only differ from, but may be in direct opposition to what they experience when operating under their human identity. That hasn't proved to be a sustainable approach, at least for those I've known who've tried living two separate existences. Many end up suffering in two lives instead of one, eventually abandoning their active virtual life as the candle burns down from both ends.

Some use virtual identity as a way to escape the trials of their physical lives. Like any form of escapism, virtual identity is beneficial when it provides a needed respite from the challenges of life, but is harmful when it prevents us from working to improve our physical condition or fulfilling our responsibilities to our jobs, our loved ones and ourselves.

Virtual identity isn't new. Pen names predate pens. But the networked environment is a substantive change because it enables realtime and near realtime interaction. This makes some people uncomfortable when they are thrust into virtual environments with those who present themselves through a pseudonym. The mere presence of virtual identities on social networks can assault mainstream participants' mental models of personal identity. This was clearly exposed when Google Plus initially forbade virtual identities. That said, I've found that in many cases, people who were opposed to pseudonymous community members have softened their views after living with us "Nymns" for a while.

One surprising realization for me was that an identity born as a pseudonym can not only survive the exposure of the underlying human identity, but can continue to thrive. The suspension of belief required is not much more challenging than the everyday interactions we have with people we casually encounter. The challenge in all cases is to realize that everyone we meet has a much richer range of existence than what we perceive. I choose to believe that there is an unfathomable mystery at the heart of life, awareness and identity. No single persona can do justice to our infinite potential. Even God wrestles with that one.

My First Atomic World Work on Identity

Entry in Single Frame Stories Challenge. The prompt was "identity."

Our system has determined that Botgirl Questi may not actually be a name

Here we go again:

Hello,

Our system has determined that the name you provided on your Google+ profile Botgirl Questi may not actually be a name.

It may be that the name you provided is that of a business you represent. Or it may be that this is actually your name and our system made a mistake.

We've got a few options for you:

• If this is the name of a business, brand, or other organization, please sign in to your Google account and change the profile's name to a representative of the organization. You can then, while logged into this profile,create a Google+ Page for the organization. Pages are designed specifically with the needs of organizations in mind, while profiles are designed for individuals.
• If this is your name, please sign in and follow the instructions to submit more information and help us fix our mistake.
• If you want to change the name provided, please sign in and follow the instructions to edit your profile. You can also optionally add Botgirl Questi as a nickname, previous name, or transliterated name in addition to your common name, if appropriate. Learn more
• If none of the above options are appropriate and you use your Google+ identity on YouTube, you can unlink your Google+ profile from YouTube. This will ensure that regular YouTube access will continue but your Google+ profile will be suspended until you take one of the actions above. If you manage a brand channel, we will soon have a better option for creating a Google-wide identity.

If you don't take one of these steps in the next 4 days, your Google+ profile will be suspended. While suspended, you will not be able to make full use of Google services that require an active profile, such as Google+, Reader, Picasa, and YouTube (if you use your Google+ identity on YouTube). This will not prevent you from using other Google services, like Gmail.

We're sorry for the inconvenience,

The Google+ team.

What Saved my Virtual Life

This is my 1000th blog post. I half-joked on Twitter yesterday that I would try to resist writing a traditional ultra-introspective narcissistic missive. But the truth is, reaching a personal milestone is an appropriate time (and a good excuse) to reflect upon what the hell I've been doing and how I want to proceed.

The current situation is certainly very different than when I started. In March 2008, Botgirl Questi was an unknown pseudonymous nube wandering around Second Life. The blog was a personal journal recording my in-world experiences. It had about a half-dozen sporadic readers, most of whom I'd met previously in Second life. Everything was new and fresh. Fascinating insights materialized at every turn. Virtual life was numinous. The exploration of virtual identity seemed like a religious calling.

In April, an article in New World Notes bumped my readership from the dozens into the thousands. I responded to the new exposure by increasing the pace and intensity of my virtual world activities and creative output. In May, I joined a community of digital people who believed they were transcending the limitations of the atomic world and setting the stage for the next step of human evolution. I held my first identity-themed art show in September and then presented at Second Life's first Comic-Con the following month. I began collaborating with other virtual creatives on new comics, videos and art shows. The sky seemed no limit.

Just a couple months later, in January 2009, I was ready to bail out. This Wheels on the Bus video is a good representation of my psychological state at the time.



I'd been burning the candle at both ends for almost a year and there was little left. My virtual community was starting to unravel. By June, most of my closest compatriots had disappeared off the grid without a trace. I was ready to follow. The dream of virtual utopia was gone. It seemed like I had been running fast and hard, getting nowhere.

But then, out of the blue, the Muse stepped in and saved my virtual life by shifting my raison d'être from the exploration of identity to the expression of creativity. I am only understanding this in retrospect as I'm writing these lines. So I'm going to end the post here and marinate in the new realization for a while. I'll be back when I'm nice and juicy.




.

Transcending the Box of Personal Branding

I just read an interesting interview with Vince Gilligan, creator of Breaking Bad. It was right on time, as I've been mulling over my virtual life in preparation for today's conversation on Inside the Avatar Studio. He said:

It finally dawned on me that TV is about stasis, and it is about life, whereas our lives are about change. We get older with every passing moment. We change in our lives, we change our hairstyles. We change our outlooks on life, our political views sometimes. TV by design has to have a certain amount of stasis to it, because the goal in television is to have a TV show that lasts for many decades.  But it’s hard to have characters on your TV show change when you are trying to provide a safe haven for the viewers, a familiar place for the viewers to come back to week in and week out. 

Although he's writing about fictional characters, the same forces play upon those of us who avidly blog and social network. Every post we make is part of an ongoing story we are telling about ourselves. The decisions about what we include and omit in our public narratives create a divergence between the full spectrum of who we are and the image of ourselves we present to others. It also works to keep us inside the box of our story arcs and makes it harder to make significant changes in our lives. Although this process is just as true for those who represent themselves online through wallet names, it's easier to discern the variances through the virtual lives of the pseudonymous.

I was very conscious of Brand Botgirl during the first year of public life. I never disclosed my human identity in public or private. The content I posted here and on social media sites was completely constrained by the backstory of being an AI who woke up within a virtual world. It was the perfect thing to do at the time. It allowed me to immerse myself in the character, see the world through her eyes and facilitate an ongoing series of realizations that I can't imagine how I would have otherwise experienced.

Over the course of time a few factors emerged that eventually pushed me out of my little nest. The first was the development of a handful of friendships that began to feel constrained by my fixed wall of pseudonymous method acting. Surprisingly, another source of visceral pressure to change came from the character herself who was straining against the confines of the artificially truncated perspective. After months of hand-wringing, I finally gave up pseudonymity and started on a new path that has ended up with a very fuzzy border between my multiple online identities: The I that is We.

It's likely that brand and virtual identity will be one of the topics we discuss today during Inside the Avatar Studio today. It's an hour show that will begin at 3:30pm SL/PST. You can attend in Second Life or view the live stream on Metaverse Television.

Why I'm appearing as Botgirl Questi on a live-voiced Inside the Avatar Studio

Bevan Whitfield invited me to be the guest on this month's edition of Inside the Avatar Studio. Since it's a live talk show, my first thought was to appear as usual through my fourworlds identity. The mixed gender thing works for Lauren Weyland, but it's not Botgirl's schtick. Voicing Botgirl's usual form with my human vocal cords would be as creepy and inauthentic as Joss Wheldon reading Buffy or JK Rowling performing Voldermort.

That said, wearing the fourworlds identity and avatar for special occasions feels like pulling an infrequently worn second-hand tuxedo from the back of my closet. (No pun intended.) It's stiff and doesn't quite live up to the occasion. So this time, I've decided to try something different. I'm going to appear on the show as Botgirl Questi, but show up in a visible form that is congruent with the live voice. (Anyone want to go shopping with me for an avatar body and skin?)

After years of musing on the virtual identity, it seems to me that one's name is the most essential carrier of transworld identity. As I wrote in 2010, a name is much more than a label:

In the mundane view of reality, a name is merely a word we use to label the particular entity that is specified. But the deeper truth is that a name plays a role in defining and maintaining our perception of the named object. At an even more profound level, a name actually brings the named into perceptual existence by separating a particular set of attributes from the universe into a discrete object or being.

So fuck it, right? The main downside I see is that I can't disassociate myself from all the pompous punditry that may spew from my virtual lips. Like in this 2010 clip from my last appearance on Inside the Avatar Studio for a panel discussion on Avatar the movie.

Here's How I Can Rez and Puppet Your Avatar Without Permission

I abducted Skate Foss and made her dance on my laptop.

Blue Mars Mobile released an update last week that lets you select another person's avatar to join yours in the virtual environment. The avatar's owner doesn't need to be present or give permission. For instance, here's an image of Skate Foss dancing on my laptop after I rezzed her avatar into my augmented reality scene.

Can you imagine how controversial that kind of feature would be in Second Life? Intellectual property aside, the idea that someone could rez and puppet a copy of your avatar would be anathema to most SLers.

Avatar identity is the killer app of Second Life. It's killer in the sense that avatar identity helps keeps its 100,000 or so avid participants coming back. And it's killer in the sense that avatar identity is an aspect of SL that freaks out the meatspace mainstream and kills broad acceptance. At least for now. I believe privacy concerns will make avatar identity more common in the not-too-distant future.

I don't know about the future of Blue Mars Mobile. It's still mostly a dress up your avatar application. But the augmented reality feature is a lot of fun. If they add more animation options and the ability to walk through 3D space, it may evolve into something I'd use a lot more in machinima creation.

For now, here's a short video that shows how two Blue Mars avatars can be animated together. I used the augmented reality feature to project them in front of my backyard Buddha in real time. I applied effects with iSupr8 for a bit more visual interest and edited the video using Avid Studio on an iPad. Music is "My Comfort Remains" (Remixed) from the late great Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.

 

Love Me in a Box

 

Whiskey Day has been writing a great series of posts about how we perceive self and others through interactions in virtual worlds, blogs and social networks. One recurring theme is the differential between who we actually are and how we are perceived by others . . .

You don’t know me. You know many things about me. You know the name I chose to share with you. You know the face I choose to wear. But how genuine is that? As long as the puppet is entertaining, do you care?   You Don't Know Jack

The problem with labels is that, while they might be true on some level and sometimes worth a chuckle or ten, they ultimately do something harmful: they dehumanize. Labels and broad generalizations erase all of the complexity of someone’s rich story and paint them as a one-dimensional caricature. And once you’ve dehumanized them, it’s easy to marginalize them, and ultimately ignore them; to dismiss them and allow yourself to feel superior.  Don't be a Dummy

 And the way we experience ourselves . . .

Is there a danger in loving that image of ourselves that we’ve created? No matter how different from our physical selves, our virtual selves are still a reflection which we have created; a facet of ourselves that we long to both share with others, and to possess. from Narcissus

Each of the scenarios Whiskey describes stem from the human compulsion to conceptualize experience into nice understandable packages. We all carry a virtual world in our heads that's a mental model of the external world. See what comes to mind when you read the following words:

New York . . . World War Two . . . Lindsay Lohan . . .

The human brain is amazing! Your mind just traveled in space and time to deliver full blown conceptions based on relatively limited personal experience. What you just experienced is the core of what differentiates humans from other forms of life. It's also what creates the problems Whiskey describes when we mistake our mental maps of ourselves and others for the actual territory.

This process is also exacerbated by our compulsion to strategically manage and control the information we share about ourselves. Consciously or unconsciously, we put ourselves into boxes as we choose how to represent ourselves online. This isn't necessarily a bad or disingenuous activity. If we don't project a strong image of ourselves online people will just put us into their own conceptual boxes and fill in the blanks with their own projections. And who knows what the hell they'll come up with?

So can we genuinely come to know each other? Personally, I agree with Byron Katie who said that no two people have ever met. We never experience anyone directly because it's always through the filter of our own perceptions. But what we can do is reality-test our beliefs and not confuse the judgements in our mind for the reality of the other sentient being. Bryon Katie has a great process to detect and let go the false negative beliefs we have about ourselves and other people. I recommend it highly.

So for the record, I'm content to be your content. You can love me in a box.

Letting Go

I'm starting to get tired of my endless musing and commentary on identity. Maybe you are too. 

We begin our exploration of identity as players on a stage. Unaware of the masks we wear. Almost completely identified with our personas. Over time, we begin to notice our movement between roles. We put one on. Take one off. Some of us even go outside the bounds of our unconsciously assembled collection and try whole new roles. But we're still on stage. Still in costume. Still identified within our method acting. 

The exploration of identity is a journey. Its destination is the point where we can let them all go. 

Mask Speaks: A Video Message From The Authoritative Source on Identity

There have been a number of interesting posts recently about identity, masks and personas. I thought I'd throw out this 2010 video from the most authoritative source on the topics.

Virtual Identity: What Happens After Minnie Mouse Pulls Off Her Head

 

Lalo Telling posted this weekend about the negative impact of meeting avatar friends in their human flesh. He wrote:

The difference, and the point of this post, is that meetups of virtual world avatars come freighted with preconceptions -- illusions, if you will -- regarding appearance, reinforced in most cases by the extension of avatarian identity into social networks, complete with profile photos to match . . . The illusion would be shattered upon meeting them face-to-organic-face... or by photographs with names assigned. It's an illusion I'd rather keep.

I understand Lalo's reluctance to break the magic circle of virtual identity. There have been people I've known for a couple years through avatar form who later disclosed their human identity including links to pictures.  In a few cases, the dual awareness created enough cognitive dissonance to create psychological discomfort. It was like what a kid might feel after he saw Minnie Mouse pulling her head off at a theme park. But I got over it eventually and gained new equilibrium.

The other side of the coin is what it feels like to give up your own pseudonymity. Identity within the virtual world community (and by extension the social network) is socially constructed. No matter how strong your own sense of identity may be, to maintain it, you need other people to suspend disbelief and play along. So when I eventually decided to disclose human identity after a year of very active and public pseudonymous life, I realized the viability of my virtual persona was at risk. Although a few people let it be known that I ruined it for everyone, I'm happy to report that two and a half years later Botgirl is still alive and doing pretty well. I'll write more later this week about the challenges of maintaining a viable post-pseudonymous virtual identity.

I have a feeling this subject is going to be hot again for a while. Yesterday, Whiskey Day wrote an interesting post on the topic and I look forward to other avatar writers adding perspectives on their own blogs.

Do I Taste Better When You Know it's Me?

The perception of "who we are" in the social network is a mosaic that includes every post we've made.

Coke makes cola taste better. Not Coke the secret formula. Coke the brand.  People prefer Coke and Pepsi pretty evenly in blind taste tests. But three out of four prefer the taste of Coke when the cup is labeled with the brand name. Researchers can actually see the impact of the brand in real-time brain scans.

These findings add an interesting dimension to our discussion over the past few weeks related to influence and SLebrity.  Are posts from people with strong "personal brands" within the Second Life community more valued and discussed than they would otherwise merit?  If we were forced to reboot identities and start from scratch, would the same people end up making a name for themselves or would new voices emerge within an even playing field? 

I wonder to what extent we'd perceive each tweet in our stream differently if the sender's name were hidden. It would be a very interesting experiment.

Bad Santa?

One of the most valuable things I've learned from virtual worlds is that our conception of reality is based as much upon imaginary projection as objective perception. In a virtual world such as Second Life we can easily remember that there is software behind the beautiful sky we see. With a little more effort and attention we can even keep in mind that there is a human of unknown age, gender and appearance behind the avtar we're interacting with.

Being able to shift awareness in and out of immersion in virtual life is a great exercise for awakening to the analogous phenomenon in the atomic world. Our experience of physical life is no less a construction of our minds. The dome of Earth's sky is actually blue light scattered across the atmosphere. Although we can't read other people's minds, we usually act as if we know exactly what they're thinking.

For the past year or so, I've been playing around with using dolls and action figures to expose how our minds reflexively construct personality, identity and story. For instance, the toys in the image above weren't posed. The were just sitting on a shelf at an antique mall. But one glance was all it took for my mind to reflexively translate the sensory impressions into an evocative story. By noticing and capturing this mental process with toys, my hope is that I'll have an easier time remembering it with people. Someday.

The Transformative Power of Pseudonymous Identity

(Warning: Fourth Wall Breach Ahead!)

Most public conversations related to pseudonymous identity in social networks have centered on negative aspects of the issue. For real-namers, it's the fear of being griefed by untraceable miscreants. For the pseudonymous, it's the fear of the damaging consequences of exposure, such as not getting hired for a future job because of a controversial post. But today, I'm going to focus instead on the positive gifts of pseudonymous identity in the light of my own experience over the last three and a half years channeling Botgirl Questi.

Although some people use pseudonymous identity for nefarious purposes, the vast majority of those I've met in virtual worlds and on social networks use it benignly. And many of us use it as a vehicle for creative expression, personal self-actualization and social community:

• I've met people who've felt shy most of their lives, but transformed themselves into confident social butterflies through virtual identity. The previous timidity was often due to physical or social characteristics that made them feel ostracized or self-conscious. Many have found that confidence gained through virtual identity is carried over into physical life.

• Most of the active artists I've met in Second Life had little or no history of public creativity before developing it through virtual identity. It's very common for people who haven't worked on an art project since grade school to end up producing substantial works and even exhibiting in art shows. I'm one of them.

• The skills I've developed in the 900 blog posts, 100+ videos, dozens of comics and 10,000 social network posts under the Botgirl identity are applied every day in my wallet name work. Although I've been a creative type my whole life, channeling Botgirl has revolutionized the depth, breadth (and speed) of my work. My Muse has given me both an unquenchable thirst to create and an ever-flowing fountain of inspiration to satisfy it.

I'm not pitching pseudonymous identity as some kind of wonder drug or panacea. But from my own personal experience and the experience of thousands of others like me, a pseudonymous identity can be a powerful platform for personal growth and creative expression.

I realize that some of you have no personal interest in developing a distinct virtual identity. And there are those who believe that there’s something inherently suspicious about anyone who would choose to do so. But as someone who’s sat on both sides of the fence, I invite you to suspend your disbelief and try it for yourself. Register another identity and start participating in a social network from that new point of view. You might be surprised by the insights it will give you.

This concludes the series on social networks and identity. You can find the others here: 1, 2, 3, 4.

Intermission: Short Takes on Identity

After three days of serious Left Brain posts on social networks and identity, I thought we could all use a little break. So I went to the archives and found a few of my favorite lighthearted posts on identity.

Duckrabbit

One interesting metaphor for human and avatar identity is Wittgenstein's duckrabbit. This picture can be perceived as either a duck or a rabbit. (If you can’t see them right away, the duck is facing to the left and the rabbit to the right.) But you can't see them simultaneously. You can bounce back and forth really fast, but not see both images at the same time.

I think that metaphor is close to the reality of human and avatar identity. At least in cases where there is a great divergence between the two. There is no morph of human and avatar. It's the anti-Gestalt: The whole is less than the sum of its parts.

Dear Miss Piggy

Dear Miss Piggy,

I was shocked and disappointed to learn today that you are not really a woman, but a man named Frank Oz. People have feelings! Poor Kermit must be heartbroken.

Can you imagine how sickened people were to find that the adorable little coquette they've had crushes on for all these years has a penis. Don't you have any shame? Now I have to wonder about all of you Muppets. Next thing you know, Cookie Monster is going to come out as a cross-dressing dyke. It just makes my skin crawl.

Just because newfangled television technology can let you pretend to be something you're not, it doesn't mean you have to start "experimenting" with us as the guinea pigs. Take my advice MR. PIGGY and be content with who you REALLY are.

Sincerely,
Anonymous

Mask Speaks

Social Network as Horse-Drawn Automobile - Part 3

In parts 1 and 2 of this series, I looked back at the evolution of automobiles and motion pictures to show how significant unanticipated personal and cultural changes emerge from new technologies. In today's post, I'm going to provide a brief summary of avatar-centric identity in 3D virtual worlds as an introduction to how our experience there might inform our discussion of pseudonymous identity within social networks.

Shortly after my "birth" in Second Life, I began to extend my avatar identity to social networks. Over the next three and a half years my virtual life has moved almost entirely into the 2D virtual world of blogs, social networks and media sharing sites. The sketch above visualizes the movement of identities between multiple worlds.

• Augementationist Identity transfers wallet name identities into virtual environments. Facebook is probably the best example of a virtual community extending physical world relationships and identity.

• Immersionist Identity is born on an online platform and facilitates virtual lives which are distinct from physical world relationships and identities. Second Life culture is one of the most notable examples of this paradigm.

• Emergent Identity is born in a particular online platform and then extended to others, including environments with primarily physical world-identified communities.  

In virtual worlds, pseudonymous identity can be thought of as a continuum ranging from the extension of physical identity on one pole, to the experience of a dissociated autonomous being on the other. The left end of the illustration above is the human aka avatar sphere. On the extreme left edge of the continuum, individuals create avatars that closely resemble their human forms as this recent Second Life banner advertisement illustrates.

In the middle of the spectrum, people experience their avatars psychologically as an extension of their human identity, but role-play through a unique persona. This can be in the context of a structured game experience in a role playing sim, or more informally through the development of a character who interacts with others through a pseudonymous identity.This is the one person, multiple personas paradigm.

Finally, some people experience their avatar identity as a unique personality that is distinct and independent from their human persona, like me! Although some people see this as a Multiple Personality Disorder, I prefer to think of it as a Multiple Personality Capability.

The emergence of a distinct virtual identity is rooted in the same processes and underlying biology that contribute to such variants of "normal" human personas. In the physical world, we express ourselves through a multiplicity of roles such as parent, employee, student, party goer, and so on. But the vast differences in our personas from role to role are barely noticed. The way we dress, the style and substance of our communication, and subconscious expression such as body language and posture can vary widely in different roles and settings.

Although living part of one’s life through an avatar identity seems strange to most people today who haven’t experienced it for themselves, I imagine people from just a few generations ago would find our mainstream world of pervasive texting and social networking to be equally as disturbing. Like seeing everyone in the crowd leaving a movie theater walking with heads down, eyes glued on their phones and oblivious to anyone else around them. Now that’s creepy.

One of the most valuable aspects of leading a distinct virtual life is its ability to expose aspects of physical life which are usually invisible to us. In part 4, I'll hack a bit deeper into virtual identity, including its relationship to creativity.

Social Network as Horse-Drawn Automobile - Part 2

In part one of this series, I introduced the idea that we are just beginning to perceive virtual identity and online social networks outside of mental models related to their physical world analogs. We always frame new technology through earlier paradigms. A good example is the early history of film.

At first, “moving pictures” merely extended the paradigm of the photograph, capturing daily events from a static camera position. It then extended the ancient medium of the stage play, presenting actors on a set through a continuous fixed shot. But over time, filmmakers began transcending the old mediums with new concepts like zooming, cuts between long, medium and close-ups and montages that escaped physical world boundaries of space and time.

It took audiences a while to develop an intuitive visual lexicon to make sense of all of the newfangled cinematography and editing. For instance, some french theaters in the early 1900s employed a narrator to stand next to the screen and explain the action to the audience. Luis Bunuel recounted a 1900s audience reaction to a camera zoom. He wrote, “There on the screen was a head coming closer and closer, growing larger and larger. We simply couldn’t understand that the camera was moving nearer to the head . . . All we saw was a head coming towards us, swelling hideously all out of proportion.”

So it's not surprising that people today have a hard time understanding the emergence of virtual pseudonymous identities on social networks. I imagine if you took someone out of the audience watching one of Edison’s early films and dumped them into a theater showing Avatar 3D, they would find it fairly incomprehensible. But just as movies were an extension of photography and drama, virtual identity is an expression of physical identity. And if we stand back and see it within that context, it can make better sense.

We are just beginning to explore virtual identity and social networks outside of the confines of our old ways of thinking. Although this early work will pave the way for future breakthroughs, I don’t think we’ve even reached the Model-T stage.  In part three of this series, I'll explore how pseudonymous identity can help bring to light the difference between "who we are" (the sentient being) and "what we are" (the aggregation of our physical aspects).

Social Network as Horse-Drawn Automobile - Part 1 of New Nymwars Series

After a three week break from posting on the Nymwars, I'm returning to the issue this month in a series of posts on social networks and pseudonymous identity.

One day at the dawn of humanity, a distant ancestor figured out that she could use a stick to dig up insects. That early tool was the first in a long line of technological innovations extending our biological capabilities. The bug-grubbing stick extended the hand and arm. The wheel extended our legs. Written language extended our memory and speech. In each case, the emerging technology allowed us to actualize human potential in ways that were never before possible.

Over time, new technologies have transformed human identity and culture in radical ways that couldn’t be imagined when they were first introduced. For instance, early drivers didn’t have a clue about the dramatic social, political and economic changes that cars would spark over the next 100 years. Women’s liberation, rural depopulation, racial integration, wars in the Middle East and fast-food chains were all hastened or instigated by the automobile. But at first, we thought of them as merely “horseless carriages”.

Today, social networks are in their infancy and we are still seeing them as just a "faster horse". To paraphrase Marshall McLuhan, we're looking ahead through the rear view mirror.

In part two of this series, I'll discuss how pseudonymous identity fits into the picture .

Google Confirms Botgirl Questi is My Real Name