Posts
12/12/2009 09:45:00 AM
David Michels
I've been reading Born Digital: Understanding the First Generation of Digital Natives. Palfrey and Gasser are both lawyers and of course are very interested in legal issues such as privacy and copyright. But this isn't a law book but in their words "the aim of the Digital Natives project is to understand and support young people as they grow up in a digital age."
Two interesting concepts they develop are the ideas of your digital portfolio and your digital identity. Your digital identity is the identity you create online through your IM chats, facebook profile, your gaming activities etc. It is malleable; I can experiment with my online identity in different ways as easily as creating a new profile or avatar. The authors however would argue as more and more of ourselves are out there online, the harder it will be to modify that identity. The digital portfolio is all the digital documents and records that exist about you from your first sonogram before you were even born if your are a digital native (and all the other medical records since then), all the bank transactions, library books loaned, and groceries bought with your air miles card! Vast collections of information which we have little control over. Sobering to think about.
I began thinking more about Churches' digital identities and portfolios. More and more Churches are creating online presences and utilizing digital communication. Who manages the digital identity of the Church? Can it be managed? If I did a google search about your church and didn't stop at your manicured website, what identity would the bits and bites create for me? That identity may last long after the present pastor and board have moved along. The enduring power of digital communication. Worth considering.
Two interesting concepts they develop are the ideas of your digital portfolio and your digital identity. Your digital identity is the identity you create online through your IM chats, facebook profile, your gaming activities etc. It is malleable; I can experiment with my online identity in different ways as easily as creating a new profile or avatar. The authors however would argue as more and more of ourselves are out there online, the harder it will be to modify that identity. The digital portfolio is all the digital documents and records that exist about you from your first sonogram before you were even born if your are a digital native (and all the other medical records since then), all the bank transactions, library books loaned, and groceries bought with your air miles card! Vast collections of information which we have little control over. Sobering to think about.
I began thinking more about Churches' digital identities and portfolios. More and more Churches are creating online presences and utilizing digital communication. Who manages the digital identity of the Church? Can it be managed? If I did a google search about your church and didn't stop at your manicured website, what identity would the bits and bites create for me? That identity may last long after the present pastor and board have moved along. The enduring power of digital communication. Worth considering.
