By Sam Driver.
As work evolves, personal reputation will begin to trump employer reputation. The success of websites like Facebook, LinkedIn and other social networking tools is contributing to a personal brand identity that encompasses both physical and online / in-world (to use a virtual worlds term) behavior. Networks of trusted sources are already crossing national borders, corporate firewalls and any other imaginable barrier. Our identity is an amalgamation of our behaviors, habits and history, both in the physical and virtual worlds.
If reputation and trust are invaluable, then where does anonymity fit into this world order? On any other day, I’d answer with a pretty hard line that anonymity has a tiny, very specialized place – for whistle blowing and counseling. I am a fierce advocate for a single identity at work, both physically and in-world. However, I found myself rethinking my position in a recent brainstorming session I did with the ThinkBalm Innovation Community.
I was surprised to learn that participants felt that anonymity in some cases might actually be helpful. Even in this meeting of ThinkBalm Innovation Community members who are growing to trust each other based on our shared exploration and advocacy of the Immersive Internet, some people felt that if they were to give certain kinds of feedback, sometimes it might be better (safer? easier?) if the feedback weren’t tied to them.
The subject at hand was a 3D “sentiment-o-meter” — a feedback system for people to offer their feelings about or reactions to topics raised during a discussion without having to break into the voice or text chat channel. We were discussing a virtual mood meter that meeting participants could use to communicate subtle non-verbal cues to the group. Originally, we discussed the possibility of creating a tool that would allow people to change their avatar’s color, or the color of their avatar’s clothing, based on how they felt about a topic.
Very quickly, the discussion turned to an alternative system that was anonymous — something akin to a 3D version of the real-time voter feedback system CNN used to gain insight into how undecided Ohio voters were responding to the recent U.S. presidential debates. (Click the screen shot below to watch the video on CNN’s Web site.) This idea gained a lot of traction.
Source: CNN (www.cnn.com)
Is there a real difference between the two systems? Most people felt that there was. In fact, the two systems could be used together. On the one hand, an introverted participant could offer feedback without standing out from the crowd. On the other hand, someone could use a tool to register and claim an opinion without breaking into the voice channel. The active speaker could direct the conversation more naturally to address this kind of subtle feedback.
An anonymous system really only works when you have built up a trusted relationship. If you do, then anonymous feedback systems could form an important aspect of the virtual “body language” system. If you don’t, you may end up with “griefing” — people participating just to harass others, without regard for consequences.
We’ve accepted that we must give up our privacy to do business (e.g., shop, bank) on the web. Likewise, we’ll have to give up privacy when working via the Immersive Internet. But privacy and security aren’t the only factors that will drive how and when people will communicate in immersive environments. A real-time feedback tool that offers both anonymous and identity-associated feedback really extends the debate about anonymity to a much larger and more pervasive context: developing a virtual equivalent to physical-world body language, facial expressions, and voting processes.
© 2008 ThinkBalm. All rights reserved.
Filed under: 2. Blog articles
Excellent piece, Sam. I think you nailed it with this “trust first” idea. For example, many of my Emmanuel journo students say they fear retribution through an internal course feedback system (in which they get to critique their instructors) that attaches a student’s name to his form.
The college says it will shield the names from the instructors. ANd it sure beats RateMyProfessor, in which a form a griefing is indeed possible.
Thanks Mark,
Humorously, I just learned about rate my professor from a friend, who was upset that she didn’t have enough chili peppers. The academic feedback system was always tricky, because most professors could ID the student by handwriting, writing style or word choice anyway. Anonymity was not really available. In that case, the illusion was sufficient to get student buy-in. This kind of pseudo anonymity is another interesting variant worth looking into.
Ultimately I think there will be a sliding scale of anonymous options, letting people be “just a part of the crowd” when appropriate, but for most interactions a high level of authentication and tracking will probably be the norm. It will be an interesting transition for the virtual worlds community.
I’m as much a purist as you started out being. Perhaps all you have to do is add “ratings” to your two current exceptions, “whistle blowing and counseling”. They are all part of a greater category of judgment or feedback where honesty may require some level of anonymity.
Thanks for the interest commentary!
I think I am still a pretty hard line advocate for transparency in the larger arena of work. Trust is a difficult thing to develop if based on a hidden identity, and responsibility for one’s actions in either the physical or virtual world is vital.
I’m just warming up to the idea that there are many facets to the anonymity problem. I’m sure this topic will continue to evolve as more business is conducted in virtual environments. The social and gamer environments have driven the existing default position of anonymity, but I don’t expect that to last for too much longer.
As more workplaces become virtual spaces this will be interesting to follow. This post and some Tweets with Erica prompted me to review Anonymity, Transparency, and Safety. Thanks for your post.
Great blog post, Mo. I have had enough conversations on this topic to realize that this is a huge issue for businesses contemplating blending physical and immersive work. I am in the process of writing a formal report on the topic from the perspective of business operations in immersive environments. A lot of thought has gone into the ideas from a marketing and sales perspective, but there is scant discussion on the topic of actually operating a normal business using this new tool. It will surely be a rocky topic for some time to come.
I almost posted my real name on the top of my about page the other day. This has really got me reflecting on the dilemma. My wife helped me put it into perspective when I asked her if she were comfortable with all the people I have communicated with on the internet having essentially a link to our family personal blog. For some that might be fine, I’m just not ok with it yet and would rather not add authentication of any kind to that blog.
I have a suspicion that the migration of family scrap booking to blogs will continue to evolve into more customizable elements of Facebook and the like where visibility is easier to control for a wider audience with more granularity. Many wives who would not have dreamed of blogging are adopting in droves. Some of them are migrating to Facebook just as quickly.
This migration of more personal information to more controlled access points will likely lead to more professional transparency as those with visible internet participation will be more free from concerns about real world safety despite the current research showing online dangers are perhaps less than perceived by most.
I still believe pen names will retain a similar value to that they have always provided as well.
Good post. Thank you.
[...] Trust, even in a business context, can be developed over time with anonymity (as I’ve personally experienced many, many times). The issue isn’t that people can’t or won’t trust you unless they know the real you. It just takes longer to build trust that way. When onboarding hundreds, or building conference weak ties that you wish to develop, that inefficiency isn’t worth the benefits of anonymity. Perhaps this is what Erica and Sam Driver have always understood better than I. [...]