Fake Names On Social Networks, a Fake Problem

disco_tracy writes "The leading social networks demand that members use their real names, and they're not afraid to evict violators. Many Facebook users have quietly complied, despite the problems that rule creates for political dissidents, stalking survivors and others. Much of this discussion has centered around people in physical or financial danger of having their identities revealed. But there are broader reasons for social networks to stop pushing real-name policies."

Comments

You Are The Product

[Frosty Piss]

The single main reason that âoesocial networksâ push the real names issue is quality of their database for the use of marketers that buy services from the social networks. That, and the Three Letter Agencies make extensive use of social network data mining. But itâ(TM)s mostly the marketers, the more they know about *you* the more they can sell *you*. "Social networks" do this to improve the quality of their product (you).

Re:You Are The Product

[Daetrin]

We've been over this before. If a company is selling your data (Facebook, to the best of my knowledge) then yes, linking it to your real name is useful. That's a pretty crappy reason though and we shouldn't encourage it (in fact it would be nice if it was outlawed, though that's just wishful thinking,) but it is a reason.

If the company is just selling advertising directed at you (Google, to the best of my knowledge) then what difference does it make if i use a pseudonym or not? They can collect information about me just as easily and sell advertising directed at me either way. Even if i "fool" them by logging in two or three times under different names that just means they can collect information on each of those profiles and sell two or three times as much advertising.

And if i'm afraid to indulge my interest in invisible pink unicorn pornography while logged in under my real name and a social network enforces a real name policy, then either i'm not going to log into that network at all (total loss of revenue) or i'm just going to avoid some of my favorite activities on that network (partial loss of revenue since their advertising won't be as well tailored to my actual interests.)

Re:You Are The Product

[cayenne8]

It's how USPS does it for online change of address forms.

Yes, but you as a customer do not have to do your change of address online and pay for it.

I was kinda shocked when I saw this...so I looked a bit harder at the USPS site...and it did provide the option (not as easy to find) to print out the form, and submit it to the postoffice or mail it in like the old ways for free.

Re:You Are The Product

[MyDixieWrecked]

A very large problem with this forcing of real names is when the sites in question have blacklists for certain names. I have a friend who's real, birth certificate name is "Aragorn" (his parents are HUGE LOTR geeks) and facebook does not allow that name, so he goes by Aragor. It's incredibly annoying to me, but he doesn't really care that much. facebook wants him to send a copy of his driver's license as proof so they'll allow him to use the name.

I'm just glad that they let me use Spike. I mean, it may not be on my birth certificate, but it's the only name I use. It's on my bank accounts (BofA doesn't seem to care), credit cards, cell phone, work ID, everything. My parents have called me that since before I was born and it's all anyone calls me.

Re:You Are The Product

[binkzz]

Maybe a real name like this will work: Chnsz Medvypa I generated a password using Lastpass and just changed the capitalization. After all, maybe it's my family tradition to give their kids first names composed of all consonants.

It's nice to know Welsh people finally made it online as well :-)

Re:You Are The Product

[Aknaton]

If there are using a pseudonym then obviously they don't want to be found by their real name. I would argue that their right to privacy is greater than your right to find them.

Three points

[Lord Grey]

For those of you who don't RTFA -- you do exist, right? -- here are the "broader reasons:"

1. * These rules risk incorrect removals of people who had used their own monikers.
2. * These sites don't seem serious about these rules anyway.
3. * The Internet doesn't need real names to work.

Mind boggling, I know. Even more so when you consider than an entire article was written around those three points.

I know several that do obfuscate...

[Lumpy]

Why? because of Stupid HR people.

I have a friend that has 3 PHD's in Archaeology and is a Viking Historian that heads up the local SCA Viking group. he had to change his name to a viking name to keep schools from googling him and labelling him as a "wierdo that dresses up" and losing teaching positions.

I have another friend that worked in the medical field and was getting questioned daily by his HR department demanding he "friend them" on Facebook. so he changed his name to a made up one, made a new "real profile" that is empty and friended them through that.

Give us laws that protect us from Assholes in the HR department, I.E. let me sue my boss for $34,986,231,15 for not giving me a raise because I posted a LOLCAT animated gif on my facebook wall.

They cant fire me for living in a blue house with yellow flowers growing outside, but yet the idiots in Washington think it's ok to let them do it because I am friends with people named Dave.

Re:I know several that do obfuscate...

[Anonymous Coward]

Wow - really?

My boss pestered me to be added as a friend on facebook. I politely avoided the issue. Several other staff did add the boss and trouble ensued. The boss was quickly unfriended followed by requests to see what collegue x was up to via my account - again politely refused.

My personal life has nothing to do with work. My friends on facebook are just that, friends.

That said, my facebook account is largely dormant now as a result of this. Well that and the pointlessness of so many status updates these days.

Anon cause I can't be arsed to log in...

Re:I know several that do obfuscate...

[GlennC]

When I get asked by bosses/coworkers to be Facebook friends, I politely suggest we connect through LinkedIn.

The right tool for the job, etc.

Re:I know several that do obfuscate...

[Hatta]

They cant fire me for living in a blue house with yellow flowers growing outside

If you live in an ironically named "at will employment" state, then yes, they absolutely can fire you because they don't like your landscaping.

HBGary email that ought 2 concern U ALL

[Anonymous Coward]

This really bothered me, don't know about the rest of you:

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/02/16/945768/-UPDATED:-The-HB-Gary-Email-That-Should-Concern-Us-All

PERTINENT QUOTES/EXCERPTS:

"According to an embedded MS Word document found in one of the HBGary emails, it involves creating an army of sockpuppets, with sophisticated "persona management" software that allows a small team of only a few people to appear to be many, while keeping the personas from accidentally cross-contaminating each other. Then, to top it off, the team can actually automate some functions so one persona can appear to be an entire Brooks Brothers riot online... And all of this is for the purposes of infiltration, data mining, and (here's the one that really worries me) ganging up on bloggers, commenters and otherwise "real" people to smear enemies and distort the truth... "

and

"They are talking about creating the illusion of consensus. And consensus is a powerful persuader... And another thing, this is just one little company of assholes. I can't believe there aren't others doing this already. From oil companies, political campaigns, PR firms, you name it. Public opinion means big bucks. And let's face it, what these guys are talking about is easy."

and

"To the extent that the propaganda technique known as "Bandwagon" is an effective form of persuasion, which it definitely is, the ability for a few people to infiltrate a blog or social media site and appear to be many people, all taking one position in a debate, all agreeing, for example, that so and so is not credible, or a crook, is an incredibly powerful weapon."

---

* I'd suggest reading the whole article in the link I put up above & not only because of the quotes I pulled from it to get your attention here, but also because it largely BACKS THE FACT THAT EVEN PSEUDONYMS DON'T MATTER, because they're easy to create via alternate email accounts, TOR endpoint proxies usage, OR anonymous proxy server usage on the part of those seeking to be "many from 1"!

(Yes, I'd read that folks - because it MAY ADVERSELY AFFECT YOU ONE DAY ALSO & be "levelled against you" (I hope not)... & I KNOW I've had it happen to me, here, & others spots online (I busted clone52431/clone53421 & others doing it in fact, the "trolltalk.com" pack of admitted trolls around here in fact & years ago from arstechnica people @ Windows IT Pro -> http://www.windowsitpro.com/article/internals-and-architecture/the-memory-optimization-hoax#feedbackAnchor (Jeremy Reimer mainly))).

APK

P.S.=> That's for anyone that tries to say I am "full of it", etc./et al - though I know that most of you KNOW this type of crap really does go on online, & how/when/where/why IF NOT BY WHOM as well as why...

... apk

So what follows?

[franciscohs]

I wonder what follows to real names.

Real profile picture photo?
Real town, school, work place?

Why?, does it make any difference to advertisers to have a name attached to a profile?, would they target that specific product differently if my name is A or B?, I would guess they will try to sell to who I am, and that doesn't change with my name...

Re:Oh Look..

[wisnoskij]

Oh, f**k you. You fascist.

And by the way.
Real Name: Jonathon Wisnoski
And I live in: Parkhill, Ontario, Canada.

Re:Oh Look..

[SamSim]

Every right can be abused. That doesn't mean it shouldn't be a right.

I have a false name

[gubers33]

I think it is needed because even though I have locked down my security settings as much as possible I know that HR people snoop around too much. I use my nickname from when I played football and rugby. I am only friends with my friends and family who know this nickname, so I don't think I am hiding behind. Am I hiding from HR and background companies that snoop out on social networks, absolutely. I don't have to the social network so my employer or potential employer can look for photos of me drinking or what not. Maybe if HR did not look for things not related to work or background companies didn't exist or security settings were actually real fake names wouldn't be needed. However, they do and fake names are needed

best argument against real names:

[circletimessquare]

it's bad for business. the same policy killed friendster:

http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20071101/194615.shtml

friendster started deleting fake names. this was the height of friendster's popularity, 2003. so people left in droves for this new funky site called "myspace"

http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20030813/2010251.shtml

1. if you do not learn from history, you are doomed to repeat it, GOOGLE PLUS I'M TALKING TO YOU

2. the BOTTOM LINE you idiots. this policy hurts your BOTTOM LINE. just ask friendster, circa 2003

Credit cards and name verification = not so easy

[robp]

Hi, I'm the author of the Discovery piece (and yes, I'm posting under my real name). One detail I couldn't get into that post was the credit-card issue--at first, I thought that a Facebook or a Google+ could just query Visa or AmEx or whoever and get a name match. It turns out that it's not so easy. Neither of the two usual card-verification schemes actually confirm a cardholder's name:

* asking for CVV2 numbers just proves that the person has the card in their hand (or has memorized those digits);

* AVS, or address verification system, only checks the numbers in the billing address.

There are other services that claim to verify names nearly instantly--but as gurps_npc notes, the real reason neither Facebook nor G+ bothers is because they don't want to discourage people from signing up.

- RP