p a s s i o n + r e a s o n

Everyone hates running into computer problems. Usually it's software problems (poorly written or buggy, or whatever). However, with some social networking sites, bad software can really pass on incorrect (or just plain wrong) information to your network of friends/acquaintances.

Now, for example, on my Friendster profile, my profile reads that I'm interested in meeting people for: "serious relationships (men)".

So, from checking Friendster, the conclusion would be that I was gay (their server "fixed" the bug already). I don't have anything against gays, but the simple fact is that I am not gay. I'm secure enough in my sexuality not to take offense, and I have no qualms if I was called "metrosexual".

Well, I just saw the "error" yesterday (as I've been without decent surfing privileges over the last month), which gave me a bit of a shock. (Perhaps it serves me right as I'm "advertising" the fact I'm single, or even looking, but then, I'm also secure about stating facts.)

The issue isn't really about me being wrongly labelled, but about how errors like this can ripple havoc in social networks and in reputation systems.

Howard Rheingold has been making several good points about virtual reputation systems as we're depending more and more on them. (For those who use eBay, how do you trust the other buyer/seller?) He notes that reputation is currency in its own right.

The erroneous "fact" on my Friendster profile was bugging a friend of mine for a while. She's a good friend, although we've only known each other a short while. I'm really glad she asked me about it, as it helped to clear up her perception or thinking about me. But Friendster could have already done some "damage" to my reputation already. There can have been several people who have viewed my profile (it's open for all to see) and perhaps marginalized me in their mind (gays do suffer that as well as outright intolerance) It'll be interesting to see how other incidents of "identity error" crop up in the future, and what kind of damage it'll cause back in the non-virtual (the real) world. (Well virtual is a different type of real, isn't it - it's no less real than the world out there, isn't it?)