Separate Lives
This post marks my return to blogging after a lengthy hiatus. I’m basically starting it up again on a whim; I need a place to record my observations, and the blog format suits me.
Lately I’ve been spending much of my time in the 3D virtual spaces World of Warcraft and Second Life, and it’s likely that much of what I publish here will reflect that. One of the first questions I asked myself when I decided to start blogging again was how much of my virtual world characters’ personal details to reveal in this space, given that I’ve decided to blog under my real name. I wondered how a reader’s ability to attach my real-life identity to my virtual world identities would affect what I have to say here, and what impact it could have on how I interact with others in the virtual worlds I visit.
The relationship between one’s real identity and his or her virtual ones is knotty and ambiguous, from the perspective of the real person as well as his or her avatars. Some people keep real identities completely separate from virtual ones; some folks’ avatars spill real-life personal details as though there is no real distinction between their real self and their avatar; and some, like me, attempt to carefully pick and choose when to reveal personal details when in avatar form. This latter strategy, for me, is borne of necessity; it’s simply too difficult not to let bits and pieces of my real self creep in to any avatar I’m posing as, however different he or she might look or seem from my real self.
My primary Second Life avatar, Floria Hand, has already been “outed” as belonging to me, which is probably for the best. Floria provides reference services and collection development as part of the Second Life Library 2.0 initiative; because I use her in a professional capacity, it’s beneficial to the real me to make her real-life counterpart apparent.
Many of my real-life friends know about my World of Warcraft toons and which servers they’re on, and a couple people I’ve gotten to know in-game know my real name and other details about me. As of now, though, I’m not planning to publish my WoW info in this blog, for reasons I can’t quite put my finger on. And I do plan to create an anonymous SL alt; I’d like to make an attempt at experiencing that world unencumbered by the “real” identity that defines me and most certainly guides the actions of my avatars when I know their identity can be traced back to me. Perhaps I’ll finally get a glimpse of what it’s like to leave my self behind, which is one of the most compelling possibilities virtual worlds have to offer.