Personalizing the World

While adjusting my half of the dual climate control in the new car to a toasty 75 degrees, I was struck by how much we customize our experiences. If I were a coffee drinker, I could order precisely the right flavor, with just the right amount of foam, and my choice of lactose source.

On the web, I have an RSS feed that gives me only the headlines I want to see based on my keywords and publication preferences. My web browser loads exactly the page I want to see upon opening the window. Even Blogger lets me choose the template I like for this blog and pick the information I want to present.

We are trying desperately to feel special in a highly populated world. Customization lets us feel like we are getting special treatment, even if our preferences are being fed to us by a computer.

Expression and Perception on the Web

It seems like everyone has a website these days, whether a blog, a social networking space, or a business site. Websites express their owners’ personalities through color choices, featured content, and design, all of which are used by visitors to understand more about the site and its creator.

Websites are increasingly being used for self-expression. In a way we are branding ourselves, much like we do with clothing or cars. While brands used to be reserved for businesses, now everyone wants to show their “individuality.” Customized web spaces make it easy for people to declare their personality, but if you think about it, we are truly declaring a demographic.

Colors, language patterns, layout, and content merge in to a full presentation. Consciously or subconsciously, visitors will draw a conclusion about the site and its creator. The visitor will use their perceived categorization to determine whether or not they believe the source to be credible.

There is no one size fits all. What appears credible to one visitor may seem ridiculous to another. The best you can hope for is to be true to yourself or your brand, which in turn should attract the right visitors.

What does your website say about you? What perceptions do you think your visitors glean?

Speaking of being able to buy anything on the Internet…

It’s amazing what you can find for sale on the Internet when you’re not even looking. Even more amazing is the way technology is applied to every aspect of human existence.

Apparently there is a piece of software that helps women track their menstruation cycles and recommends the best times to try for a baby. The iOvulate Calculator even claims the ability to help choose gender, “although the success average is lower.” Let me know how that goes if you try it.

The Internet gives us access to all sorts of tools to enhance our lives. Though some may seem absurd to me, they no doubt serve a purpose to someone else. Perhaps it’s not even that the tools themselves seem absurd, just the method of distribution. People are willing to search impersonal sources for intimate information. We’ve succumbed to the world of technology and many wouldn’t have it any other way.

Buying a Car Online

Today my boyfriend picked up a new car which he purchased online. Though I've always researched auto purchases online, it wouldn't have dawned on me to actually purchase on the web. After all, what about the test drive? At any rate, he built the car he wanted on the brand's website, visited one dealer, then decided to cut to the chase with CarsDirect. One week after entering his desired features, his car was ready for pick-up with all the options, but thousands cheaper.

I guess you can buy anything on the Internet these days. Sometimes it is more convenient to do so. If you need that test drive, I hear that Toyota has built a virtual test drive race track in Second Life. Local traffic laws may apply.

Popularity on the Web

Social networks abound on the Internet. Between MySpace, Second Life, and personal blogs, it’s easy to make “friends” on the Web. Enter popularity contests. Users can gauge “worthiness” by seeing how many friends or comments or Diggs a site rates. As Seth Godin noted, “There’s really very little point in trying to have more friends than anyone else at MySpace.” I read recently, though, that one can buy MySpace friends, which would indicate that someone must think there is a point, even of some of us don’t see it.

Choose Your Own Identity

Pseudonyms are common on the web. People use false names for email accounts, websites, social interactions, nearly anywhere that a name is required on the Internet. Identity is easier to proclaim on the Internet than in real life. In life you must be able to prove that you are accomplished where you say and earn your identity. On the Internet, it is slightly easier to declare your talents. It is thought that in many cases on the Internet, people choose to be their ideal selves. From behind the computer they feel more confident.

Identity will probably become a prominent issue in the future. Some European countries are already considering laws that make creating email accounts with pseudonyms illegal. Wikipedia asked for an editor's resignation upon learning that his credentials were false (see Wikipedia disowns an editor). In a world that is becoming increasingly more reliant on technology, watch for rules to be established surrounding identity.

Where should identity be policed and by whom?

With Globalization Comes Isolation

In the past week, I interacted with people from around the United States, Canada, the UK, and Europe. We shared ideas, advice, instructions, and laughter. I facilitated events with hundreds of attendees and watched as they learned and asked questions. How global of me. Did I mention I didn’t have to leave my chair?

Think about how small this world has become through blogs, email, instant messenger, and web seminars. Before the Internet, how long would it have taken you to interact with hundreds of people from distant lands?

The Internet, among other technologies, has brought people closer to one another, yet our society is spending more time with technology and less time with other humans. It is great that I can order books online and have them shipped directly to my home, but there is a comforting buzz of energy in bookstore. I love that I don’t have to go to the bank, but I miss out on the chance of seeing a neighbor in line.

Technology has, arguably, made our lives easier. Many businesses are becoming global that never would have considered it ten short years ago. People are befriending others across oceans through socialization on the Internet.

With all of this globalization, however, we are also isolating ourselves from our immediate surroundings. The art of conversation is truly an art now that we have succumbed to the immediate transfer of short phrases and acronyms.

Look up from your computer. Look at your surroundings. What do you see? What do you hear? Are there other people in the room? I dare you to speak to one of them. After their initial shock, they might start speaking back. In seconds you could be having a quick exchange of information with an actual, living, breathing soul, right there in the room.