Comments on: Identity On-line http://atomicspatula.com/2009/04/24/identity-on-line Greg Nichols Tue, 06 Jul 2010 19:23:50 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 By: Dan http://atomicspatula.com/2009/04/24/identity-on-line/comment-page-1#comment-2432 Dan Tue, 28 Apr 2009 00:27:56 +0000 http://atomicspatula.com/?p=228#comment-2432 The most famous Dan Nichols on the internet is a Jewish Rock Musician. Tim Nichols is a country music guy -- not nearly as cool. As for the WoW networking, I haven't really benefited personally, but I've heard of people who have. I've definitely made some good friends, but I guess that can happen in any game or online community, not just WoW. The most famous Dan Nichols on the internet is a Jewish Rock Musician. Tim Nichols is a country music guy — not nearly as cool.

As for the WoW networking, I haven’t really benefited personally, but I’ve heard of people who have. I’ve definitely made some good friends, but I guess that can happen in any game or online community, not just WoW.

]]> By: greg http://atomicspatula.com/2009/04/24/identity-on-line/comment-page-1#comment-2416 greg Mon, 27 Apr 2009 13:20:35 +0000 http://atomicspatula.com/?p=228#comment-2416 One issue I've been thinking about is the cross-over between your social on-line identity, and your professional one. I think there's a big advantage to this cross over both directions, and you want to maximize that by picking one identity. Role-playing can be fun. It seems to me that these roles are at best, transient - the whole idea is to avoid impact and liability of your real reputation. While that's part of the appeal of World of Warcraft, I get the impression that serious players aren't really into that so much. I'd be interested to hear if contacts you make in World of Warcraft have ever been of use to you outside the game. The biggest problem with real names is what you've pointed out - lack of uniqueness. If you search for "Greg Nichols", you're going to find a diamond merchant, a guy who likes his Porche 928, a motorcycle racer, and a guy with pictures of his chinchilla before you ever find me. Even "Atomic Spatula" isn't unique, and shows up on Amazon and You Tube. So, I don't think uniqueness is possible, and getting search placement is not worth the effort. One issue I’ve been thinking about is the cross-over between your social on-line identity, and your professional one. I think there’s a big advantage to this cross over both directions, and you want to maximize that by picking one identity.

Role-playing can be fun. It seems to me that these roles are at best, transient – the whole idea is to avoid impact and liability of your real reputation.

While that’s part of the appeal of World of Warcraft, I get the impression that serious players aren’t really into that so much. I’d be interested to hear if contacts you make in World of Warcraft have ever been of use to you outside the game.

The biggest problem with real names is what you’ve pointed out – lack of uniqueness. If you search for “Greg Nichols”, you’re going to find a diamond merchant, a guy who likes his Porche 928, a motorcycle racer, and a guy with pictures of his chinchilla before you ever find me. Even “Atomic Spatula” isn’t unique, and shows up on Amazon and You Tube. So, I don’t think uniqueness is possible, and getting search placement is not worth the effort.

]]> By: Dan http://atomicspatula.com/2009/04/24/identity-on-line/comment-page-1#comment-2403 Dan Mon, 27 Apr 2009 04:42:55 +0000 http://atomicspatula.com/?p=228#comment-2403 Whenever possible I like to use my real name (this is one of the very few things I like about facebook). But that doesn't work for all online services, and it can be difficult if you have a relatively common name. I started looking for a better AIM username a little while ago (My old one dates back to middle school and seems stupid now), but every possible AIM screenname is already taken, so I just got an ICQ number. It's simple and it works -- Hi, I'm 412739126! World of Warcraft was kind of a weird situation. Everyone I played with in WoW had at least a few different characters, so it was necessary to have some kind of handle for a player that they'd answer to regardless of what character they were currently using. Some people had nicknames or used their primary character names, but most of the people I played with a lot would just introduce themselves by their real first names, especially in voice chat. It's a complicated topic. I guess it's easier to decide what names NOT to use than to find a really good one. Whenever possible I like to use my real name (this is one of the very few things I like about facebook). But that doesn’t work for all online services, and it can be difficult if you have a relatively common name. I started looking for a better AIM username a little while ago (My old one dates back to middle school and seems stupid now), but every possible AIM screenname is already taken, so I just got an ICQ number. It’s simple and it works — Hi, I’m 412739126!

World of Warcraft was kind of a weird situation. Everyone I played with in WoW had at least a few different characters, so it was necessary to have some kind of handle for a player that they’d answer to regardless of what character they were currently using. Some people had nicknames or used their primary character names, but most of the people I played with a lot would just introduce themselves by their real first names, especially in voice chat.

It’s a complicated topic. I guess it’s easier to decide what names NOT to use than to find a really good one.

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