Rex Woodbury: Evolution of Digital Identity
Episode Summary
Digital identities have far evolved beyond a simple username and emoticon or a profile photo and personal page. It’s become a way that people can express themselves in a wide spectrum of ways and find meaning in new online communities.
In this episode, we explore how Gen Z has different trends in how they display their identities online compared to Millennials. Whereas Millennials approached online identity in a more curated and performative manner, Gen Z shows a strong desire for authenticity and embracing imperfection. Moreover, identity and status is more rooted in context to a community rather than purely through broadcasting on social feeds.
Beyond that, people have started to tap into experimentation with new forms of identity, such as through the use of synthetic media and transhumanism. An example of synthetic media is CodeMiko, which is an avatar mapped to the person’s real life actions and expressions. Transhumanism pushes the boundaries further through creations of purely virtual identities and personalities such as Lil Miquela who has amassed 3M followers on Instagram and has done multiple collabs with brands and celebrities despite being a purely digital creation.
Finally, we explore the proteus effect (how online personas affect real world identity and perceptions) and the new roles and use cases to be expected for people to take on online. Rex predicts that the metaverse will help democratize access to goods and experiences in a way that the offline no longer can and enable people with more agency and autonomy to pursue their true interests.
About the Guest
Rex woodbury is a Principal at Index Ventures, a global venture capital firm, where he invests in consumer internet and consumer software businesses. He’s particularly interested in how people and tech intersect, including online communication, creators, and digital economies. He shares his thoughts on his blog, Digital Native. Before Index, Rex worked on go-to-market at Airtable, impact investing at TPG’s Rise Fund, and was a Knight-Hennessey Scholar at Stanford.
Show Notes
[1:30] Online identity for Millennials vs GenZ
[6:20] Experimenting with new identities through synthetic media
[9:10] Reasons for wanting to be fully anonymous online
[11:20] Reality privilege and proteus effect
[14:40] Transhumanism
[20:30] Decade of status to decade of community
[21:20] New roles and responsibilities in the metaverse
[31:35] Challenges to watch out for as we embark on creating the metaverse