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Inferring Personality From Email Addresses
paleshadows writes "Three researchers from the University of Leipzig published an interesting paper titled 'How extroverted is honey.bunny77@hotmail.de? Inferring personality from e-mail addresses' (PDF). From the abstract: 'Email addresses represent the thinnest slice of information that people receive from one another. Using 599 e-mail addresses of young adults, their self-reported personality scores and the personality judgments of 100 independent observers, it was shown that personality impressions based solely on e-mail addresses were consensually shared by observers. Moreover, these impressions contained some degree of validity. This was true for neuroticism, openness, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and narcissism but not for extroversion."'
Personality tests are (reasonably) based around extroversion in normal social interactions. I think its fairly well accepted that one's introversion/extroversion on the Internet is not necessarily the same as in "meat space". Perhaps "honey bunny" is shy in real life but using the freedom and anonymity of the web to act as she would like to be able to act in real life without consequences. The reserved accountant in real life could be the brash bon vivant at their computer.
Granted, a similar variation would be likely for other attributes, but I would be surprised if extroversion was the trait most likely to have a radical change (increase).
One of my favorites, though, is the story of a guy applying for a job at Yahoo! He registered the email account "iwanttowork(@yahoo.com)," and used that to send his resume. They hired him.
I wish I could find my source for that, but I'm damn sure it happened.
SIG: HUP
I chose my screenname/email address when I was in 4th grade. I'm now a Junior in college. So the only thing you can infer from my email address is about my personality ~10 years ago.
(Yes, many readers will call me crazy for that. Choose your roommates carefully guys.)
Whoa. Crazy? No, 'crazy' would have been the house you'd have if you invited her in. Been there, and not because the landlord listened to my suggestions. I've lived with some very interesting people from all across the social spectrum, and it IS fun and enlightening, but the stress level eventually forces a dramatic shift of some kind. I wouldn't go back and change a thing with my experiences, but they were by no means a walk in the park. I have a lot of very fond memories from my room-mate years, but it was hell on earth at times. There is a time and a place for both adventures and for quiet.
-FL
Like I said: the best of a bad lot.
I write sci-fi for metalheads
...are necessary. I once received a CV from "slap_head_dave@..." He didn't even get an interview.
That sort of jocular email address is fine for your friends' use but you need to use a serious one for business / applying for jobs etc. or else nobody will take you seriously at all.
So, what you would want to do is make up a persona. Name, DOB, address, phone number, job, etc, etc. All of the facts need to appear legitimate at surface review. Pick something that isn't obviously wrong. Like, don't say you're the lead researcher at an outpost in the Antarctic. If you, say were to be in the New York metro area, and your addresses is a drop box in Manhattan, that's more reasonable. 18.8 million people live in the NYC metro area. Be careful though, use a metro area that you're familiar with. If you claim to live in New York, but you've never even visited there, it's going to be obvious if someone asks any questions.
That's who JWSmythe is, and it's spelled out almost as such on my site. JWSmythe is my online persona, who I use for everyone online. If you search around for Mr. Smythe, you'll find lots of information (and lots of disinformation). Identity thieves have a goldmine of information on Mr. Smythe, but it's all false, therefore worthless. If you search my real name, you'll find lots of information also, but they're all for other people. I'm very pleased with that. Even if you use a background search service, you may find bits and pieces of me, but it will be mixed in with so many other people who aren't me (but have the same name), it's worthless info.
Serious? Seriousness is well above my pay grade.
It not so much insulting - it feels like having a close relative who's not very good looking but has a beautiful voice.
German humour often works requires understanding of the German culture and the many degrees of freedom the German language has, which often transport fine differences in meaning.
I find it quite difficult to grok japanese humour and I think German humour may be as difficult for non Germans.
And I still remember my - usually very distinguished - physics teacher having difficulties breathing because he laughed so hard when we watched "Pappa ante portas" in the class before christmas.
My personal email address is 5@.. and I chose it because I'd never change it, because it *doesn't mean anything.* I'm not five years old, my birthday lacks a five in it anywhere, it's not in my driver's license number, my name isn't five letters.. It doesn't mean anything, and that's why it works.
Dude, everything means something. "5@" is loaded with information.
1. Who the heck gets an email like that? Either a very early adopter, a supporter of a very small ISP or somebody with access to a unique webhost. If you're using one of the giant internet providers, you are tech-savvy enough to know how to tinker with email identifications. Many companies and institutions which have their own email host require employees to conform to email naming standards, so either you didn't acquire that email name through work, you're a guy who buys his own web hosting or works high enough up some sort of chain to be able to do goofy stuff without comment from superiors. The common factors one or both of the following deductions: You're a guy who knows his way around a computer thank-you-very-much or you hold an important (but not too-important, or you wouldn't have such a weird email address) position of some kind. That takes care of the broad guess information. The personality reading is much tighter.
2. You're a guy who doesn't want to advertise silly nonsense in an email name. This doesn't mean you can't be an anime geek, but it does mean you're aware enough to know that such an email name is kind of silly, and you don't want to come across that way. Whatever the case, a name which gives away nothing is consciously chosen for that reason. This suggests you are a cautious person with some pretty good brains, which tells me a lot about how you can be expected to handle yourself in any number of scenarios. Any confidence you have in social situations probably comes from a studied investment of will power rather than a naturally bubbly charisma. This gives me the general locations of a ton of probable fear, anger and happy buttons I could poke around for if I wanted to manipulate you. --Don't worry. I don't do that! :)
3. It's possible that you are also one of those guys who has a no-nonsense somewhat self-important and conservative (though not necessarily in the political sense) attitude who spends a fair bit of energy devoted to sighing heavily at people who ARE silly and thoughtless.
One might be tempted to ask, "Why 5 and not some other number?", but that's too squishy an area to really tread in. Though one might note that had you picked a "1" it would suggest some outward self-importance which you either couldn't embrace or chose not to for some reason. 3 and 7 are 'magic/biblical' numbers, whereas 5 suggests balance and digital thinking. But like I said, that whole area is a bit too squishy for my liking.
In any case, that's all just from a number "5". I know what you're not, and that gives me a ton of profile to work with. I could be wrong about all of it, of course, but those patterns do jump to mind first.
-FL
Japanese humour, like German humour, and indeed, everybody else's humour, has multiple levels. There's more intellectual stuff which relies on cultural knowledge, but you also do see slapstick, absurdity, and other genres of humour. Lots of people like to moan about how high brow British humour is, for example, but that's the same nation that gave us Benny Hill and Red Dwarf. Not exactly high brow. Japanese humour isn't really any different.
Take, for example, the Japanese comedy Ping Pong Bath Station (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0169126/). Absolutely hilarious. And one of my favourite Japanese movies. It's about a hot spring resort that decides to rejuvinate its business by hosting a ping pong tournament. The thing is that alongside cultural reference humour that you may or may not get, one of the characters is transgendered, and used as comic relief. There's still some cultural humour in that character, but it is a level of humour that's much closer to what an American audience will be used to.
Ultimately, it's a question of where you go. Some German humour, you'll get. Some you won't. The same can be said for the rest of the world.
Anyway... no real point. Just felt like mentionning that you can't lump it all together. And obligatory disclaimer: my mum's family is Scottish/Irish, my dad's family is German, and I studied Japanese in University. It's American "humour" that I don't appreciate....
If you believe everything you read, you'd better not read. - Japanese proverb