Don’t Be Digitally Misrepresented (Ned Gazette)

When we hear about identity today, in the digital age, it seems we hear more about identity theft than anything else. But there is more to worry about than merely someone stealing our identity. What about misrepresenting it?

Daily, even several times a day, things happen to give us a digital identity. We make purchases using a debit card; we walk down Pearl Street, constantly watched on surveillance; we make a cell phone call, or buy something on E-bay, or e-mail friends, family, or lovers. You get the picture. This is the extent to which we leave a digital portrait, whether we intend to or not.

This digital description of us starts from birth and ends several weeks after we are deceased. When we’re gone, and someone attempts to create some history about us in the future, what will they find? Maybe some phone records, a few computer documents left behind, and an electronic digital history of our lives. But is that what any of us actually intended?

Today people create several different kinds of digital identities: for instant messenger, for e-mail, for work and for leisure. People work online globally, for companies and people they have never seen or touched, purely through their digital identity. People everywhere are creating media and data that is a very valuable part of their identity. Blogs, online photo/video galleries, and network profiles like Myspace and Tribe are all huge content producing monsters, full of digital identities.

Possible employers, business partners, lovers and others use the internet to search for info on you, and what pops up on Google is often very interesting. How do you protect and promote yourself on Google at the same time? You can protect yourself by knowing your technological enemy through education. You can start by utilizing the free and or open-source tools available to the general public. Start creating content your proud of, that is reliable and can be backed up with facts and sources. Participate in online forums and groups, to learn about others who share your interests. Become a part of the online communities and mold your digital identities, yet, Always use caution when becoming a part of any online community, and be cautious when molding a digital identity. Cautious about what information your releasing, and to whom. Also be cautious about whom you interact with, how, and where.

Maybe we should be thankful that Nederland is a step behind. Or maybe it is just moving in the right direction, when it comes to invasive data mining and surveillance of its citizens. In a world where everything is documented, it’s nice to know there are places like Nederland where we can take refuge from the digital documentation of our daily lives. A place where we can step lighter, still participating in the future of technology, and yet not let it overwhelm us in our peaceful mountain town. Nederland might just be one of the last places to find solace from these kinds of invasive technologies without cowering in the face the future.

SIDEBAR:

As an experimental electronic artist, it is my lifelong art project to create a more accurate digital identity of myself. I don’t want to erase the ‘day to day’ data; instead I try to create new data daily, that is both personal and relevant to me. I also try to hack data created by others about me and use it in my digital art. The creation of a new media biography will become my dominant history, utilizing my skills as a digital artist. Building blogs, creating digital art and narratives, creating music, video and photography gives me the chance to tell my story with a unique format. Users whom google ‘Jane Crayton or JanedaPain’ find relevant info about me. I am taking over my public/published media, and this control is key when you’re trying to market yourself as an artist and a producer of content. Of course, figuring out how to fund it and keep it live, long after I’m gone, is the next big question!