Danah Boyd at the MIT Media Lab has developed an extensive thesis on Social Network Fragments. Her basic theory is that people do not carry identity from place to place but rather they alter themselves to fit the context of the interaction. Danah's assertions challenge the main elements to Augmented Social Networks core elements (persistent online identity, interest matching technologies). The notion that we need fluid online personalities to adapt to online cultures rings true to the civic engagement community as well. How do online identities dress for the occasion? Is this a direction that online personalities want to go?
"Users should have the ability to control their digital identity for the same reasons that they seek to control their physical identity, most notably to present themselves in an appropriate manner in relation to the current situation."
The focus on identity is a chase down the wrong path. Our culture and world is more temporal in a networked age. The social network gurus should focus on enabling meaningful "instant engagement" leveraging the speed and scale of the network world rather than focusing on long term relationships.
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