Abstract
This article highlights persona in digital writing. It discusses how aspects of a personal site can result in others viewing a person in one particular light or another. People have the ability to choose the type of persona they develop by the choices they make. While a persona may be constant, different people may have different opinions about one persona. Consequently there may be discrepancy. However, people of the same communities often times carry the same persona which then leads to the development of a community.[1]
Keyterm
Persona
Persona by definition is a person's perceived or evident personality. Persona is a persons image to the public.
Self-Identity
Self-Identity by definition is how a person views or feels about themselves. This could be gender, socially or even digitally. Relates back to persona
Persona in Digital Writing
When users make their own personal social site the users are making a persona or image that allows users of the site to connect with and identify them. The most important part of designing a users page or profile is their self-identity. Self-identity and persona are one in the same since they both indicate how a person views oneself. When creating a page or profile on most social sites the option of choosing a user and account name are two different things. The account name is the name on the account which is hidden from other users, while the user name is provided to public. This option is an example of public vs private . The way that social sites set up their public vs private lines affect users on that site. The effects of the public vs private line limit users to what information they want to provide when creating their image. Users need to take into account who will be seeing their account and what they want others to see. Self Identity Creation [1]
Examples of a Digital Persona
Digital Persona is how the users views themselves as member of the community and how they want the users of the community to view them based on their image. Twitter is used as an example. Users create Twitter names to identify themselves on twitter, while their real names are hidden within the account settings. This relates back to public vs public theme since users only know other users by their Twitter names.. Twitter gives identities based on the user names and pages. Twitter also has a system to verify or validate who a user mainly celebrities to avoid identity theft on Twitter. A small blue arrow is place next to the user on the authentic pages of celebrities. In Life on the Screen: identity in the age of the internet by Sherry Turkle from 1995 she explores the idea of the computer being the tool that will define our identity. “On the internet our confrontations with technology as it collides with our sense of human identity are fresh, even raw. In the real-time communities of cyberspace, we are dwellers on the threshold between the real and virtual, unsure of our footing, reinventing ourselves as we go along.” (Turkle, 10) [2]
Why are Digital Persona Created
Digital Persona are created depending on the online community. A user name is just part of an online community to provide safety and security for the user. To allow the decision of public vs private. In the gaming community digital persona is based on the users gamer tag or screen name. Other gamers never know where a user is located, age, gender, race or anything personal unless the users gives the information away. On social networks digital persona is different because a visual image is given. Take Facebook as an example it applies the same rules as Twitter, users only see and know what is posted from another user.
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False Digital Persona
Once again Twitter is used as an example. People use digital persona to create fake Twitter pages. Examples are Peter Griffin from Family Guy, Tony the Tiger, or even making fake celebrities pages. Users of these types of pages post Twits portraying these characters. Attempting to share the thoughts of how these characters are feeling or thinking about.
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Conclusion
Digital persona is a way for people to express themselves. Rather it is used to express thoughts or to act out someone they want to be. Digital persona is included with in every form of digital writing. Rather its community building, blogging, use of social site, or creating a wiki page. The persona or identity influences what is presented to web.
References
1.http://w350digitalwriting.wikidot.com/start
2. Turkle, Sherry. "In Life on the Screen: Identity in the Age of the Internet." Google Books. Simon and Schuster Paperbacks. Web. 09 Nov. 1997. <http://books.google.com/books?hl=en>.
3. http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/tech-fun/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/facebookyou.png?323f2c
4. http://chzdailywhat.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/ca7e6cd4-7139-46df-84b1-8fb1336f3e82.jpg