Traditionally our identity has been made up of a group of key factors such as family, birthplace, work and the people we socialise with. In the future your identity will also be influenced by your virtual activities.

The past decade has seen a distinct rise in the amount of freely available information on an individual, the majority of the western world will now have a significant presence on the internet, whether they asked for it or not. As public records, and even consumer profiles, transfer onto the world wide web, references to individuals become open to search engine algorithms, and therefore instantly accessible.

In addition to this reluctant presence, more and more people are beginning to define themselves through their digital representations. Social networking sights such as Facebook, MySpace and Second Life allow users to create virtual networks of contacts who are only ever exposed to an individual’s digital persona.

How we manage these two aspects of our internet presence will become vital in building and protecting your networks and credibility. The fast flow of information makes it possible for long-held reputations to be destroyed in seconds, as such, businesses and organisations will be required to deal with these new threats, even if they are not directly connected to the markets in which they operate.

Identity theft has also become a major issue; criminals have become adept at utilising the internet to gather valuable information on individuals and then using it in illegal ways. Many of the schemes rely on an individual’s lack of understanding of the technology. As people continue to develop their internet presence, they will also be required to protect their virtual profiles.

Fact File

Social Networking Websites
• MySpace – 289m users
• Facebook – 74m
• Orkut (popular in Greenland, Brazil & India) – 68m
• Hi5 – 50m
• Windows Live Spaces – 40m
• Classmates.com – 40m
• Xanga – 40m
• Bebo – 40m
• Tagged.com – 30m
• Friendster – 27m
• LinkedIn – 16m
• Second Life – 10m