July 25, 2021 8 minutes readEntrepreneur contributors do not necessarily agree with the opinions expressed.Although it may sound impossible and unbelievable, pseudonymity can be achieved and has been used in some cases for some time. Benjamin Franklin assumed the pseudonym Mrs. After being denied publication by The New-England Courant, Silence Dogood was published quickly. John le Carr published Call for the Dead as David John Moore Cornwell for a remarkable reason. While he was MI-5 agent, he could not use his name to publish books. JK Rowling, the Harry Potter author of Harry Potter fame, wrote The Cuckoo's Calling using the pseudonym Robert Galbraith in order to publish a novel without all the hype and expectations.Many of the hundreds of millions of Reddit users use pseudonyms. Many social media users use pseudonyms, especially those of the alter ego or parody accounts. Although some might claim they cause social media confusion and junk, this does not invalidate the wisdom and entertainment shared by parody accounts such as Twitter @thetweetofgod.A continuous movementBalaji Srinivasan (an angel investor and serial entrepreneur) says pseudoonymity is the future of society. He also believes it is something that people should strive for and be able to achieve. Srinivasan presented at the Cryptocurrency and Hayek Conference, hosted by Coin Center and Mercatus Center at George Mason University. He used as an example the support for multiple accounts on online services like Google. This allows users to create and keep separate accounts for personal, professional, and other purposes.In the economic side, pseudoonymity is also present with businesses and consumers having different accounts in certain online shops, marketplaces, digital wallets, and digital currencies. Consumer accounts can also be used to rate or review products and services.Srinivasan was previously the Chief Technology Officer at Coinbase and a general partner at Andreessen Horowitz.Already, there is a growing infrastructure that allows consumers and businesses to use pseudonymous identities. People who sell online via social media and marketplace platforms often use pseudonyms to promote their products. They have separate Facebook and Instagram accounts for their business activities.Srinivasan also considers pseudonymity an essential element in decentralization. It allows users to choose their identity instead of being tied to one that was given to them. Identity cannot be used against individuals.Related: Privacy, Transparency, and Auditability How Blockchains are Increasing AdoptionAvatars and extreme filters are on the riseIt is important to be clear that pseudonymity doesn't mean anonymity. It's not about creating temporary or disposable accounts with fake details that shouldn't be traceable or doxable. But it is difficult to be pseudonymous when your face is required, such as when you do live selling, vlogging or host an online show via apps like Showroom and Livit.It may sound strange and bizarre, but real-time filters can help you solve this problem. The DJs of DeFi are an example of how pseudonymous identities can be used to personify decentralized technology during live-streamed podcasts or teleconferences. The DJs of DeFi are similar to masked DJs, who are more known for their music than their real identity. Their goal is to facilitate discussions between technology entrepreneurs and help them avoid bias.There are also apps that can change the appearance of video of people. Douyu, China’s equivalent to Twitch, offers a filter that transforms anyone in their 50s into a teenager, or adolescent. The extreme filter was made famous by a glitch in the app that revealed the true face of a young YouTuber who was actually a 58 year-old woman.Srinivasan showed a VR avatar and AI avatar capable of changing the voice and covering the face of users in his conference presentation. It can show the face of another person, with a different accent and voice to match what the user is saying.Zoom will be 2021. Srinivasan stated that by 2030 you might not be able to use your real face or voice online. While current video chat apps use filters, future ones could have the technology to replace faces, voices, and accents of people to allow complete pseudonymity.Related: Virtual Conferences Could Be Here to StayTo a pseudonymous economy, and a better societySrinivasan summarized pseudonymity's superiority by stating that real names were not made for the internet. They reveal too much, and they don't tell enough.Family, friends, acquaintances, and others can identify someone using real names. They match the name with other data, such as photos, profile details, or other accounts on social media. Real names are not always unique. Real names can be matched with real people or other real names, and they may have hundreds, thousands or even thousands of matches. This is not an oxymoron, since real names can reveal too much or too little in the same context.Pseudonyms are unique and can be used for reputation and wealth transfer. Payment accounts and online shopper/seller make it possible for funds to be transferred between users. Trust and reputation can also be built through rating and reviewing systems on marketplaces.Pseudonyms can also be used to represent business ideas, such as the one that the DJs of DeFi project is intended to do. With the help of avatars, the DJs of DeFi have launched the CDzExchange platform to cross-chain derivatives trading. This allows them to concentrate on the merits of their innovations and not the personalities of their founders. They were able to communicate their product more engagingly through Zoom, live streaming and teleconferencing.Avatars can be used to share business ideas in a fun way. This is a great way to combat Zoom fatigue, especially during times like the pandemic where most business meetings are done via teleconferencing. Avatars allow entrepreneurs to pitch their ideas without having to associate with any other products or business models.An excellent example of pseudonymity is the Satoshi Nakamoto identity. It is used to identify the creator or group responsible inventing Bitcoin. It offered privacy and security to Bitcoin's creators. The Satoshi identity also helped to dispel any doubts about the initial platform backers. Instead, it focused on the technology's applications.It's the same as what happens within society. It is still possible to discriminate, biases and promote prejudices. Investors, stakeholders, and consumers need to be able to objectively evaluate business models and products. Srinivasan stated that rather than appealing to people to ignore their gender and race or cancelling or discriminating online, we make that impossible by replacing that information with fully functioning pseudonyms and realistic avatars.Protecting against disruptions in the social supply chainPseudonymity allows people to create different identities for dealing with certain people or situations. This gives them control over their reputations and exposure to negative social interactions. However, it is not an escape from accountability. It was not made to allow for the repeated failures of digital entrepreneurs. It is not an endorsement for businesses that produce new business models all the time, even if they are a good idea.Pseudonymity allows privacy, freedom of speech and protection against negative media and mob attacks on social media. This is both a boon to entrepreneurs in the digital age and for everyday people whose lives are affected by social media and their online activities. It is possible to create a pseudonymous identity in order to have fair and objective interactions with investors, other businesses, and consumers.
