The Identity of an Internet User

Posted by Adam McNamara | Filed under Tech

Most individuals maintain what can only be described as an “online identity”; a collection of personal information in the form of user, customer, and social network profiles, blogs, personal webpages and much more. These pieces of user generated content, often scattered across the internet, can be aggregated together to form an “online identity” of the creator. More often than not, this identity is an accurate representation of a person’s real identity, just as my website, resume, and writings form an accurate representation of my identity.

Web 2.0 is underpinned by user generated content and social networking. An explosion of information, a large portion of it personal in nature, is being distributed on the internet with little regard for the implications. Data portability will work to address the problem of managing your online identity. At the same time, the semantic web will connect the dots and create personal profiles.

The Semantic Web

Many people believe the semantic web is but a small part of what will be Web 3.0. A cloud of information that recognizable to computers and capable of being connected and understood. Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the World Wide Web, described the so called “Semantic Web” in 1999:

“I have a dream for the Web [in which computers] become capable of analyzing all the data on the Web – the content, links, and transactions between people and computers. A ‘Semantic Web’, which should make this possible, has yet to emerge, but when it does, the day-to-day mechanisms of trade, bureaucracy and our daily lives will be handled by machines talking to machines.”

Data Portability

DataPortability is a project aimed at both creating these connections and allowing users to control them. Using existing technologies like OpenID, RDF, and Microformats, DataPortability is creating tools for people to freely manage their online information. It also seeks to connect user generated information across websites. Data could be identified as coming from a particular person, regardless of where on the internet it was posted. The project creators philosophize that “As users, our identity, photos, videos and other forms of personal data should be discoverable by, and shared between our chosen (and trusted) tools or vendors.”

Collecting and Handling Private Information

As online interaction goes up, so does the amount of information each person shares. Four main privacy issues surround the collection and retention of personal information online (credit to Alex Saunders):

Disclosure of data collection purposes. Websites must be open about why they collection personal information.
Limits on data collection. What are websites allowed and not allowed to collect from individual users?
Consent on the use of identifiable information. How is the organization using and sharing your data?
Secured storage of personal data. Is your personal information being stored securely? What protections are in place, who is accountable, and to what extent?

What Does This Mean To The End User?

Most people on Facebook (and other social networks) freely identify themselves in a variety of ways. They link with their friends, join groups based on similar interests, and publicize the most intimate details of their daily lives. Now, view these networks from the standpoint of a Facebook or Google Open Social “administrator”. They can look for patterns, create social graphs, analyze relationships, and data mine on a grand scale. A semantic web extends this paradigm to an entirely new level.

Imagine asking the “internet” for everything about “Adam McNamara”. Not only does my website show up, but so does:

My religion
Political affiliation
Network of friends
All of the videos and pictures I’ve uploaded
Blog posts and comments
Recent purchases

While this example is fictitious, it illustrates the magnitude of the connections we’re making online. Most of this information is already shared freely by people, particularly on social networking sites. Imagine that it could all be tied together and can be queried, aggregated, and analyzed.

Managing your online identity is will soon become much more complex.

One Response to “The Identity of an Internet User”

Alex Says:
February 5th, 2008 at 6:05 pm
With such great data portability possibilities there should exist a “nuke all” button. The internet is far too anonymous and irresponsible for its own good.