I’ve noticed something over the past couple years. The old status quo of internet usage was to hide behind nicknames, and to divulge as little personal information as possible. Instant messaging, web sites, and chat never demanded much more than a pseudonym, and with no way to form relationships, there was no expectation of telling the truth.

With the widespread introduction of online social networking, that is changing. Facebook and other social networks no longer ask you for nicknames. Your actual identity is displayed. All over the web, there are profiles, relationships, etc that help determine who you really are, not who you say you are. I noticed this while, over the past few months, I diverged from using my “default” login of skeevis (which I’ve used since I first got a computer), and instead now always display who I actually am.