Sometimes it's useful to have Internet accounts and user IDs for AOL, Facebook, Gmail, LinkedIn -- the usual gang -- that aren't part of one's primary "Internet identity." Kind of like using a separate nonproduction system for development and testing.
It turns out it's easy and free to crank up a double handful of these accounts and IDs. And you don't have to offer any of your real data -- like name, birthdate, or where your first pet was born -- much less prove you're you and are at least 18 years old.
I'm not talking about creating these accounts for illegal/inappropriate activities like, say, stalking, or for sniping at one's business or political opponents while hiding your own identity. There are enough other reasons:
To avoid online confusion. A lot of Internet accounts and services leave your browser, computer, and account Ghostbusters-slimed with cookies and crumbs and history that really aren't about you. Ask anybody who's e-shopped for something for somebody else and has been dogged by misrecommendations.
If you want more privacy. You may simply want to avoid unnecessarily proffering data about yourself and your activities and interests.
If you have more than one business. The primary hat I wear is that of a freelance technology and business writer. But I also write science fiction stories, and over the past few years, I have been doing YA/children's short fiction. (Changing hats accounts for the bald spot.)
If you test applications and Websites. You may want to do searches and activities that would muddy what a site "thinks you think."
To use untested resources. A separate ID can minimize the potential for ripple-effect whoopsies, e.g., an email barrage or spamming.
To create screenshot examples. If you are looking to show Webpages or screen snaps of books, training materials, etc., that don't have your information or others' included, a secondary ID helps.
It took me somewhere between 30 and 45 minutes to create a set of accounts with AOL, AppleID, Dropbox, Facebook, Gmail, LinkedIn, Skype, Tumblr, Twitter, and Yahoo. Nowhere did I give my real name, etc. Several sites, like AppleID, required sending email with a confirmation link, but if you start by getting AOL and Gmail accounts, that's not a problem.
At one point, it looked like Google+ wanted a phone number to call or text the confirmation to. But when I fed it my (new not-me) Gmail ID, the account creation went right through.
Here's some advice in setting up an alternate Internet sub-persona:
Keep notes. Your spare persona doesn't just need a name. It also needs a gender, a birthdate, ZIP code, high school, college, workplace, and some secret-question fodder like birthplace. You could use some of your real data, if you want; part of my interest in conducting this exercise was to see if I could create accounts ab nihilo.
Order helps. Like playing Adventure or NetHack, it's easier to create your new accounts if you do things in a certain order -- starting by getting an email address that doesn't require any verification, since the sign-up process for some sites, such as AppleID and LinkedIn, includes sending email that needs to be clicked on.
Keep track of passwords. Thanks to a plethora of site rules, you may not be able to use the same password for the entire batch.
Like I said, it's not hard, or time- or money-consuming, to gin up a secondary e-identity or two. And they can be useful.
Important reminder: This is about avoiding persona-munging, not about absolute anonymity, privacy, or security. Don't assume these accounts can't be tracked back to the real you. So follow the same cybercommon sense you should be using in your regular activities.
— Daniel P. Dern is a freelance technology writer based in Newton Center, Mass., and author of the blog TryingTechnology.com.
Life is complicated enough. To create a second identity is an exercise in how to spend more time at the computer for me. I wouldn't want to encourage others to follow that lead, but if one feels a real need to keep that secondary ID, go for it.
@hounhosp - I think teachers could put themselves in jeopardy/harms way very easily. I poor grade (no matter how well deserved), a misspoken word, a perceived flirt could all be amplified beyond what would normally be the case.
The problem I have with multiple email accounts/identities is that I forget to log into the ones I do not use on a daily basis. Sometimes I am simply too busy to view them; other times I don't recall that I've opened them at all. It's a problem. Still, the point you make about keeping business and personal separate is so important, Kim; I think it's better to have unread mail than read mail in the wrong place.
It could also be useful to you for testing new products online that you aren't very sure of or that you do not agree with but have to test for purposes of research.
Then let's face it, people have secret lives too behind their public lives. For instance one may have an obsession for weight loss products and forums, but would not like that information ever becoming public or being linked back to them in real life. In this case you need a separate identity.
In addition to that, you could be a person well known and influential to a certain circle of people but you would like to get a real citizen feel of a certain forum without the fakeness that comes with being celebrity in that circle.
Then you are going to need a secondary persona. This way you can ask questions and get real answers without being flattered, and say what you really think without sending the media on the rampage.
To your point, Gigi - It’s always good to keep the right intention at the right manner.
I have a few Facebook and LinkedIn connections that had problems with their original identities. There were too many challenges in either getting assistance or resolving the problems, so my friends and colleagues created second identities. They changed a little information so the system wouldn't flag it as a duplicate. The original identity is still online. They couldn't delete it.
"Teachers, local officials, police officers have the second persona for "protection""
Protecting your identity on the web is important especially if you are somebody in a position that can bring many enemies on your way. But I don't know if teachers should be counted among such persons.
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