I’ve recently knocked up a virtual business card primarily for use in the 3D virtual world of SecondLife where I have been building a social presence on many levels. The way we craft our online identity for those of us that work fairly extensively on the internet is becoming more and more important.
SecondLife has the majority of its users with an anoymous real life (RL) identity, essentially making no link whatsoever with the real world. This is of course a very safe approach for users to be able to immerse themselves in the environment fully without fear of having to deal with anything real, they can attend virtual strip clubs, play poker, have virtual boyfriends and even walk around dressed as a 3 foot transvestite fox!
For me SecondLife however is an extention of my online personality and I aim to make no distinction between the two lifes, I mean sure I can fly “in-world”, but business is business and SecondLife is a wonderful platform for creating some delightful working relationships, adding another dimension to online projects and dialogue. This does mean one has to be vigilant in who we deal with to ensure that there is credibility behind the avatar.