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Showing posts from January 24, 2010

Google Xistence - a new approach to identity

It's a public secret: The world of social networks is about constructing identity. Let's be honest: Every one of us has probably tweeted about the cool club we've been to, or what airport we're currently stuck at, or that we're reading poems in some cool foreign language, to make our lives appear intriguing and cosmopolitan. Social networks are as much about constructing identities as anything else. They have enabled a construcivist approach to that elusive beast, identity, and Google Xistence is merely taking this a step further. Inside rumours that shed a bit more light on how Google Xistence works have reported that there will be a host of preset identities to mix and match - start with a "Renaissance Man" baseline, then throw in some "World Citizen" and "Political Activist", and Xistence will generate status updates, photos, locations and more that fit this synthetic persona. But who wants to be stuck with a static identity? Th