Talk:David Fein
Comment #1 from 'Philip Norris': Your avatar was really insightful as to showing how you want to be perceived online. I think it good that you showed that you filter some things from your online identity only because they may not be understood out of context by certain people. In my own avatar I don't talk about this but ran into it when viewing my history with facebook. I like that you address that secondary elements of facebook are sometimes just as powerful as primary elements because in some situations you cannot control them. I would liken it to when you said you do not post unflattering pictures of yourself but you could not stop someone you knew from doing so. And even if you asked to be untagged, with certain groups of people they would still know that it was you. My final and favorite observation from your avatar was that you showed that Facebook thinks they know who you are because of their ads but they have a great misunderstanding because they are only catering to the demographic that you are apart of which of course does not tell you who you are at all.
Comment #2 from 'Zach Kendall': The part of your Avatar assignment that I identify with most is the portion on pictures. I agree that because your pictures are the thing that you have the most control over, your profile picture can really define your online identity. I always thought of my identity based on current friends, not future friends. I think that was really insightful. I have a fairly dry sense of humor as well, so most of my jokes on Facebook do get taken out of context. After getting Facebook messages from friends and family members about certain posts, I put an end to my attempt to be funny on Facebook. Pretty much everything gets taken out of context. It's no different from a text message or an email where an exclamation point can be read as a sign of excitement or anger. I think your portion on sexuality is a topic that I have never had to confront or deal with. I can only imagine the different decisions you had to make on the little things regarding your online identity. Either way, I too find that the less the better when it comes to personal information on Facebook.
Your section on Authenticity opened my eyes to a new perspective on online identities. I have normally known people to be somewhat reserved online, but, if I understand correctly, your Facebook is similar to how you are in real life. It's not necessarily wild and crazy because that's not how you are in most real world settings. Out of the other Avatars that I have looked at and read, you have done a really good job of making points and expanding on them. I feel like I have a good sense of your online identity after reading through your post. Great work.
