MANIFESTO!

In our society today, the internet has become an ever expanding hub of information that is reachable from almost anywhere across the planet, and is readily available for anyone with a computer and a phone-line. Out in the crux of the net, we are free to chat to each other from as far away as opposite sides of the globe if they so wish. Using such sites as “MySpace” or “Facebook”, anyone can set up a profile, sharing whatever information they like about themselves including their hobbies and interests, and even photos. But how can we be sure the person we are talking to is who they say they are? The answer is of course, we can never be 100% sure that anyone is exactly all they claim to be, unless we meet them face to face. The truth is, it is easy to pretend that you are someone completely different online, changing you age, location and even gender, with just a few mouse clicks, you can completely reinvent yourself. The ease with which one of these accounts can be set up is quite astonishing; especially with regards to how easy it is to set up a false account. The only form of factor that needs to be included that is real, is an email address, but even that can be set up under a false name quite easily, through sites such as “Hotmail”.
It could be considered that setting up your own “Facebook” or “MySpace” account is a form of performance in itself, as it is something that has been created for other people to look at, and interact with.
There are many reasons why people might chose to fictionalize an online persona, one of the most prominent being their own insecurities. The internet gives people the opportunity to be who and what the want to be, giving them the option to fantasize over their absolute ideal. Many other people online use false identities for more dishonest reasons, for example, someone of a perverse indisposition may use the internet to interact with people they would never usually have the courage, or perhaps the social skills to talk to, but by hiding behind the mask of their false identity to tell them things they would never say otherwise.
Through making a false identity online, I hope to prove just how easy it is to reinvent yourself, changing any detail to suit your ideals, and show how easy it is to make people see these falsities as being as real as you or me. I also want to consider how easy it is to become completely shut off from the real world, by living life entirely online, where you can make friends, even find ‘online’ lovers, and ask whether it is important that the people we speak to online are real or not. After all, it is unlikely you will ever have a chance to meet them face to face.

Online Community?

John C. Dvorak, an award winning columnist from PC Magazine, argues that all sites like MySpace are “artificial communities” which are filled with fakes and vandals, who are there to “stir up trouble”. He argues that up to 50% of the users on some of these community sites are fakes. Dvorak raises the question;

“Is there any way to establish and maintain an online community with no fakes and vandals ruining it for everyone? Or is the problem just a reflection of society that we must live with?” - John C. Dvorak

False Identity Generator

http://lifehacker.com/software/privacy/create-your-own-false-identity-181710.php

This is a site i found that generates fake information that can be used to create a false identity online. It generates a fake name, city, state and zip code, telephone number, DOB and mother's maiden name. Such identities are generated for the purpose of such things as forms that need to filled in order to sign up to certain websites, or as pseudonyms to avoid companies from seeing past information about yourself. Obviously, such information could be used for many other illegitimate reasons, also.