Digital Identity: Fragments, Email Lists, and Flat Designs

Reading this piece really made me consider my own identity in the online environment. It made me think back to all of the times I've clicked on answers in little boxes to questions about my racial identity, gender, sexual orientation, age, etc: all of the facets of how I paint the picture of me. I had never thought about how this format fragments identity and dis-articulates each of the elements from the others. This definitely made the online environment seem a lot less "democratic" and not at all color blind. Then again, would we want it to be color blind? Doesn't that situate race as something that should be disregarded and not accounted for? Maybe our digital spaces should be more accommodating to our identities as a whole and allow the users to determine which aspects they would like to emphasize or make others blind to.

Looking at the designs of many major websites, my observations are very much in line with what Nakamura is saying about the layouts begin flat and lacking diversity. This apparent lack of diverse voices and perspectives in the design of the web's architecture speaks volumes to how underrepresented a lot of groups are, even in this digital environment that is supposed to level the playing field. It's too easy to think that just because anyone has the freedom to create a website or participate online that we all have equal power in the online environment. How sites are ranked and promoted, and how names and usernames get/can be categorized and perceived is evidence that our digital space is not equal.

One part of the article that was very relevant and interesting to me was the email list about Asian Americans. It made me think of some of the email lists on our campus that seem to send a similar message. For example, the email list that sends messages to all of the women on Michigan Tech's campus. I understand the intent is to connect women on campus and offer events that might be of interest. However, the population of women on our campus is very diverse in itself and represents a massive array of identities that can't be contained within one list. Additionally, an aspect of my identity landed me on the CDI list. Again, I understand that the point is to offer a connection between students who identify as part of a minority group, but I like to think my identity as a whole situates me as something more than a member of a "diversity" email list.