Online Identity

Online identities are something we all have in common, whether it is e-mail, blogs, or instant massager. We are all part of the online world. These are all ways to establish a network on the online communities (Wikipedia). Many people have accounts with MySpace and Facebook, as do I. We create these accounts as a way to network. We network by sharing as much information about yourself or as little and as we continue using the different online identities we build a reputation, allowing others to decide whether you are trustworthy or not. The problem that corresponds with online identities is that that individual can give a distorted view of themselves. Meaning they falsely represent themselves online and offline.
An online identity I am most familiar with myself are social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook. I carry accounts on both. However the MySpace network site allows for more than one way to create an online identity. MySpace allows account holders to write blogs, post bulletins, and even instant message with MySpaceIM. These are all ways of creating online identities. For the majority MySpace and Facebook are networking sites where anyone can create a profile describing them while also listing their hobbies, favorite music and movies, etc... It used to be that only college students were able to have accounts on Facebook but today it includes high school students as well. Account holders can customize their page however they like. Choosing to share what they want and don’t want to. The idea behind both of these social networks is to allow account holders to search and friend other members whether they know them or not. With both these social networking sites allowing almost anyone to join, the topic of reputation comes to mind. Are the people you meet online really who they say they are? Basically you could be anyone you choose to be. Wikipedia says the difference between blogs and social networks like MySpace and Facebook are that an individual must make their identity known; no pseudonyms or fictitious names are allowed. An online identity itself is described as being more malleable than a real life identity. On line identities allow for individuals to redefine themselves and in some cases an individual can create as many identities as they choose to. Wikipedia states that multiple online identities often arrive under circumstances that raise accountability questions.
A possible way of assuming someone else’s identity on MySpace are by using the custom pages uses create allow the injection of certain HTML which can be crafter to form a phishing user profile, keeping the myspace.com domain as the address (Wikipedia). Phishing is the attempt to criminally and fraudulently acquire sensitive information, such as usernames, passwords and credit car details (Wikipedia). By assuming someone else’s identity you are then able to use their profile and information, putting your reputation in question. This is a primary concern of the online communities, whether or not a person is misrepresenting themselves. The point is you can choose what kind of identity you have online, either it can be very open and revealing or you can keep personal information to a minimum. You build your own reputation, but so can everyone else.