Anonymity as a design tool

by Antonio on 05/02/09 at 8:30 pm

One of my favourite cartoons ever, by Peter Steiner in a 1993 edition of the New Yorker

I’m enjoying SecretTweet at the moment. It allows users to post anonymous confessions to a public Twitter stream – here are some good recent ones.

“Had a choice between two guys to be with a couple years ago. I now know I chose the wrong one.”

“Being his is the best thing that has ever happened in my life. He is not my husband which is the worst thing I have ever done.”

“I love my adopted sister but because of her, my family is tearing apart and I sometimes find myself wishing she didn’t exist.”

F*** My Life is another a genius concept based on a similar idea, and both trace a line back to the mighty Post Secret.

Anonymity in social spaces is often seen as a bad thing, mainly because it can lead to unaccountable criticism, bullying, or worse. A pretty nasty comment on Jo Geary’s blog sparked an interesting discussion on this subject.

But services like Secret Tweet show there’s a more positive side. Encouraging anonymity can provoke a much more honest, visceral input from users sometimes on subjects they wouldn’t dream of even talking to their friends about.

An example of this in action is Sexperience, one of my favourite multiplatform projects from this year. The site uses well-crafted questions to provoke anonymous stories about sex – allowing users to learn from each others’ experiences.

The site contains some truly moving and shocking, and funny experiences.

I think there’s scope for more projects like this which use personal stories as a means for people to learn from each other. And in some cases anonymity could be a key aspect of designing these platforms.

There are obviously dangers, but they’re in no way insurmountable. As usual, it comes down to good community management.