Anonymity as the enemy of artist branding: “Who is this guy again?”
I don’t like to think of the arts as a product. I blanche when marketing folks talk about the importance of “branding” to a roomful of arts managers and artists. Afterall we like to think that we are in the business of providing transformative experiences and not just a product. We hope that the audience will reward the quality of the art and not the brand name.
But in our busy world, we want to easily find what we like and trust, and that includes the artists and arts organizations that fit our interests and consistently deliver experiences that enrich our lives.
In Second Life, performing artists who wish to promote their art in the virtual world are forced to create new identities rather than import their known real world brand. Then they have to bridge the gap the second time to take their inworld followers out to sites to market CD’s or downloadable files. Some have decided to market themselves in SL separately, giving up on trying to make the links. This means doubling up on social networking identities, broadcasts and sites. Why does it have to be this hard? Cannot people be given the choice to use real identities in SL?
Anonymity and the credibility of arts in virtual spaces: “Oops, he’s not really that guy”
The credibility of SL arts is compromised every time someone fakes their performance or identity. It also places SL presenters in a quandry on the few occasions where they come across an obvious forgery. They have no mandate to police SL and no incentive to get into a disagreement.
One time this season I was asked to present a performer that had a long record in Second Life. From the online samples and program he planned, I scheduled a performance, and so did one of my closest colleagues on her series. The forged performance was easy to detect even by an untrained ear. The pianos used on the various spliced tapes and live streamed bits varied from upright to grand to electronic. An awkward beginning with voice over (live streamed) was suddenly awkwardly replaced with virtuosic performance with a totally different sound colour and spatial acoustic.
I sat in silence unable to affirm this forgery with applause or comment and simply vowed to never invite the entity to the series again and to quietly alert colleagues. As a volunteer who works long hours to present value-added content in Second Life, I didn’t feel my interests or the audience’s interests were served by getting into some likely contentious expose of this isolated individual’s shenanigans. However I couldn’t help thinking that if performers used real identities customarily, this guy would not/could not have so easily misrepresented himself.
Anonymity and the safety and security of artists: “I’m crazy about that guy”
The last issue regarding anonymity relates to the behavior of some unbalanced audience members that poison the climate for performers out of resentment, obsessive fan behaviour or other personal problem.
This week we may have lost one of SL’s rising stars due to cyberstalking. The artist in question is taking time out from SL and thinking about whether the many pluses outweigh the negatives and danger from a crazy who has invaded their life and privacy. What do you do when someone whose true identity you don’t know begins to post things about you on the internet, follows you to your social networking pages and reveals they have contact information for your loved ones? “Creeped out” doesn’t begin to express it. While the behaviours might violate LL’s TOS or even be illegal if threats or blackmail is explicit, it is all new terrain, legalities aren’t clear, and why should an artist bother? It is so much easier to delete the profile, exit SL, and get on with their life.
Once again the culture of anonymity — while it might be ideal for roleplayers or those seeking to experiment with identity in SL — is often a huge liability in the marketing of artists, the credibility of the arts in virtual reality and the safety and security of artists. Shouldn’t anonymity be a choice and a privilege with some limits for the community good? I believe that those using anonymity to misrepresent themselves and/or to cause harm should lose their right to hide behind avatar names. I have wondered whether the simple device of displaying IP addresses for all avatars would dissuade people from disreputable and illegal acts. Those having no wish to be anonymous should be able to choose to use their own names, verifying identity by the same means that age verification takes place.
7 Comments
Cellandra
I have felt that way for a long time now, that people should be held accountable for their behaviors in SL.
Displaying IP addresses for all avatars would be one way of doing it. It certainly would cut down on hurt and angst caused by unscrupulous people. (I have been in SL a long time and the horror stories I could tell.)
That being said, I think the artists that truly wish to be known in RL have made it very clear who they are right from day one.
I think there are no easy answers to this dilemma. Privacy versus public knowledge and how to balance it, is a decision many an artist has weighed in on.
I think that those who wish to use their own name should be allowed to, but I don't think is should be made mandatory, there are just too many hackers out there that once knowing a person's IP adddress, could use it illegally for their own personal gain.
Very interesting article thanks for sharing.
Zha Ewry
I think there are some challenging issues around anonymity in second life. I don't think this post parses them terribly well.
Starting with the one that most bothers me. The anonymity or lack of anonymity of a performer is at right angles to whether someone stalks them on the web. Given the ease with which anyone can create a gmail or yahoo account, creepy web stalking is trivial, and happens to people with public, private and semi-private identities.
Forged performances in an online setting is a little more challenging, but I listen to the various forms of live music in second life on a near daily basis, and I generally know who performs purely live, who uses backing tracks they have created, and who is, frankly, performing karaoke. While the semi-anonymous nature of Second Life may make it a little easier to avoid real life accountability for fraud in these cases, I don't see people all over the grid claiming to be live when they are not, and I see people being unclear even less.
Finally, in terms of managing the linkage between second life and real life? The performers I know who perform publicly in both real life and Second Life aren't shy about it. They post links to RL web pages in chat, and they tell you where they are performing live when they are streaming from a live event. Does it complicate life? Perhaps a little. I honestly think most residents are capable of managing the extra name. The other direction is a little harder. Telling people that they need to find "SnakeSkinner Pigwhistle" instead of John Smith is a bit harder. Picking an avatar name which is close to one's real name helps, and honestly, I think that the complexity of getting people to Install Second Life, create an avatar, and figure out how to locate an event is much greater than the problem of recalling that SnakeSkinner is actually John.
AldoManutio
AMEN!
AldoManutio
As a performer who has been working in SL for several years, of which a number have been directly with Kate, I second this … I work hard to bridge the gap between the SL and RL audiences, trying to get then to understand that their appreciation of my efforts can extend beyond the virtual…the "authenticity" is one of the key features that I bring to the performances, as the work is highly improvisational.
I do believe tha we should have options as to the levels of anonymity we can have in there.
Kate Miranda
Thanks all. This was meant to spark some thoughts and there are some good ones here.
Brad Reason / Doubledown Tandino
Personally, I think it can swing both ways, depending on the artistry of the performer.
I do agree with all your points as to how a performer's real persona will benefit him or her….
but what about the performer that chooses to take on a Second Life persona, and that is what their performance is about, and who they choose to be?
For me: I happen to be the same performer in real life and in second life; there's no anonymity… but I could see how a performer could work their Second Life persona, and have that be their full-on presence and show.
Kate Miranda
Interesting idea but at about $5000L a gig max or $20 US most performers are going to have to perform in RL more than SL. I look forward to the day when virtual spaces can support full time arts initiatives (tired volunteer wearing out from flapping her wings real hard to stay in the same place.)
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