Social Media  Google+: Why the Real Name Policy Is Creating a
Very Boring Social Network [OPINION]  Google has raised a lot of
digital hairs with its new policy, requiring real names for
Google+ users. Cory Doctorow says that real identities are bad
because they make it easy to sell us to advertisers. Danah Boyd
goes further, saying that the policy is an abuse of power
because it may compromise users' safety. But they vastly
understate the case, and ask for the wrong solution. The
hugeness of Google's error is in misunderstanding the basic
human need for a flexible framework for identity creation.
People change and evolve, and throughout the entirety of human
history, we have been able to shed old versions of ourselves,
and construct new identities. This is so universally true as to
be a cliché. How many films open the first act as follows: A
stranger comes to town. What is the mysterious secret he hides?
What did he run away from? Our identities are complicated. In
fact, the need for multiple identities only