Myth | The Internet is anonymous

Just read a great article on how news sites are gradually abandoning the ability to post anonymous comments. [http://tinyurl.com/y64usxa].

While this is no surprise to anyone who works in media.. it really had me thinking: i think the belief that the 'Internet is Anonymous' is probably one of the biggest myths out there. Sure, maybe first generation Internet services provided true anonymity... but not these days.

And with the decline in online anonymity, we've also seen a much greater increase in the quality of user contribution.. because users are accountable for their content. I think Facebook has gone a long way in helping to pave the round with the general population in making users accountable for their postings. Everyone has a Facebook account these days (well, almost everyone). And almost everyone had an account that reflects who they really ARE: not their online personas, or screennames (thank you AOL), but real people.

Online UGC content is much better now that there is better transparency as to who's writing it. Authentication and transparency have had a meaningful impact.