Sky's Questions on Internet Footprint

How important is 'netiquette' in our presentation of self online? Why do you think this?
I believe it to be very important. Failure to follow the norms and good practices of the relevant plaform diminishes your reputation amongst other users of the platform, and possibly causes inconvenience. Just as a trivial example, I retain emails as a "filing system" for a long period of time. When correspondents don't give good subject names, or none at all, it makes to much more difficult to find things later. Not following the implied norms leads to outbreaks of pedantry and wastes time.


What does your own Internet footprint look like at the moment?
My footprint is pretty light, because I don't engage in social networking, I've not been a prolific publisher of papers, and I'm not in the public eye. Last time I Googled my name, almost everything I found was not relevant to me. The one exception was the minutes of a community meeting I attended.

Did you try out the MIT personas installation? Were you surprised by the results? What does this tell you about the efficacy of data-mining?
Yes, I did try it out. Wasn't surprised by the results because I have a little experience with data mining and I know that imprecise data going in will yield wildly incorrect patterns and relationships. Data mining is a valid technique when sensible questions are asked and applied to relevant data.

Do you think carefully about what identity you want to present online?
Yes indeed, which is probably why my footprint is as if I've been walking on hard concrete.

Do you use an avatar online? If you do, why did you pick that avatar?
For the purpose of NET11, I have created an avatar. It is a rendering of a photograph of me, designed to "be me but not identify me". I have used this technique in some of my image manipulation work.

Do you agree that the presentation of identity has become technologised? What effects do you think this is having on us as individuals and as a society (or societies)?
I do agree with that proposition, but only for a particular (but very large and growing) demographic, mostly based on age. I had dinner last night with a group of people who (because I'm doing this unit) I surveyed on the subject. Most did not know what I was talking about! My adult son and a young woman at the dinner have a lesser online presence than I do, much to their amazement.

But (to get to the second part of the question) it seems that teenagers and young adults, as a group, are highly obsessed with their identity as revealed/displayed on their SNS of choice. By my observations, the people in this group are fairly open / honest in their online presence, and use it as a means of innocent (if banal) communication. I perceive that young people naively believe that their parents are unaware of their online activities.


Are there cues or keys that you consistently look for in dealing with people online. What are they? Why are they important? Why are they important online?
Yes, and I'm sure that I read more cues than I am aware of. Important cues to me are spelling and grammar in textual information, and in the selection of themes, images etc. Impressions count, and these cues tell me a lot about people that I am dealing with. When I know the individuals, these cues are a lot less important, but can still influence me.

Do you agree that social media is a fundamental shift in how we communicate?
Yes indeed, but again it depends on who "we" are. Newspapers and faxes, and even landline 'phones and email, have been subsumed by mobile phones and SNSs amongst the iGen demographic.

How actively do you 'read' others' profiles online? Do you look for clues as to who other Internet users are in their online content?
Not actively at all, I take my cues as they are presented to me. I'll look for more when I think I need it.