In this era of rapidly growing, global electronic communication, there is increasing concern about online identity. Understanding the concept of online identity, as well as its implications are important to anyone using the Internet.
What is identity?
Thefreedictionary.com suggests that identity is “the collective aspect of the set of characteristics by which a thing is definitively recognizable or known”, as well as “the set of behavioral or personal characteristics by which an individual is recognizable as a member of a group”. It is also “information, such as an identification number, used to establish or prove a person's individuality, as in providing access to a credit account”.
What is online identity?
Online identity is unique and distinct from identity, in that it refers to information or pertinent data posted digitally on the Internet. Online issues may be in terms of accuracy of information, security and anonymity. How you are identifiable online as a person, as well as with respect to a potential business venture is important. For example, you may have a personal blog, as well as a business web site. Both will require information that identifies you.
Internetsociety.org offers a training module entitled “Online identity – An overview” that discusses various issues affecting online identity. This training module distinguishes between online and real world identity. It also discusses partial identifiers as opposed to digital identifiers, as to what they are and how they function in relation to your online identity. Your persona and personal, as well as business profile are comprised of digital identifiers. Your persona is essentially the data that you publish online about yourself, while your profile may be information compiled by others.
Digital identifiers collect data about your online activity, as well. They may take the form of cookies for web sites, including search engines. User names and passwords are for security purposes and identify you in such a way that you can access your web sites, as well as those of others, with their permission. Ideally, identifiers prevent others from accessing your blog, web site or e-mail without your permission. Service providers use online identifiers as locators that help potential Internet users to set up IP address. Of course, with respect to IP addresses, accuracy is important in order to maintain Internet access.
Security is of growing concern with respect to the Internet, particularly with regard to online financial transactions. Ongoing digital technology and research is continuing in that respect. Unethical individuals, businesses or organizations seeking personal gain, may attempt to tamper with online identity. On the other hand, search engine optimization (SEO) reduces the likelihood of abuse related to online identifiers for blog and web site owners, who will continue to publish on the Internet in spite of the potential risks.
Most website builders and designers learn various programs that help to protect against identity theft. Blog templates have built in protection features to prevent tampering. Social media websites and e-mail may be tampered with, but the problems may be resolved by contacting the web site owners or management directly. Caution with respect to personal and private information, particularly financial in nature, is always important.
No comments:
Post a Comment