The Character

After re-researching my research I came to the conclusion that I had all the ingredients for a digital story, to be placed on the web.
What you need is a character (or call it a virtual identity). And a story. The first question that arises that what is a virtual character? To answer that we first need to answer the question what is a character? I will skip the history lesson for now, and go directly to the last chapter, that of the postmodernist and the anti-essentialists

Identities are never undefined and, in late modern times, increasingly fragmented and fractured; never singular but multiply constructed across different, often intersecting and antagonistic, discourses, practices and positions. They are subject to a radical historicization, and are constantly in process of change and transformation.. (Stuart Hall, 1996 - Londen, Questions of Cultural Identity)

For Foucault, people do not have a ‘real’ identity within themselves; that’s just a way of talking about the self — a discourse. An ‘identity’ is communicated to others in your interactions with them, but this is not a fixed thing within a person. It is a shifting, temporary construction. (Foucault)

But although a person is not commonly thought of as a process, we can think of his life or personal history as a process, a sequence of events. “Personal Identity” (John Perry 1975)

A character has to be prominent and individual, has to be noticeable and cannot be eliminated from the story without provoking a important change in the plot Narrative Elements in Digital Media by Cristian García (1997)

The conclusion can be that an identity (how someone sees someone else) is a summing up of the encounters of the expressions of the other in different media (as you count real life as a medium) So to create a virtual character you must create points where the viewer can meet expressions of the character (like weblogs, mail, IM, photo site’s and other) and can have interaction with the character. To get a realistic story not only the interaction but also the static information (like photo sites and weblogs) need to be in change (in state of flux)

The Story

According to Deleuze and Guattari (1987) the raw materials of existence - the social, the mental and the physical - are constantly in flux, lacking consistency and making connection difficult. (bron)

A Story in new media consist of events, as in linear media but their length, development and arrangement in time are not decided by the author. In my opinion, the cause and effect chain turns to be the user as a cause-action and the computer makes an effect-reaction. The suspense, the curiosity for the next happening is now the curiosity for the effect the computer can generate: what happens if I do this? Narrative Elements in Digital Media by Cristian García (1997)

The Internet has provided a new context for identity exploration, as the virtual world provides a venue to explore a complex set of relationships that is flexible and potentially anonymous. Language on the Internet represents a new type of discourse that is shaped by the creativity and innovation of its communities of users (Crystal, 2001).

Example
I will use the website of Matt Brett as an example. reading (or using) his website is almost like a new media story, what will happen (or will I learn) when I push this link? I don’t know if you can call it suspense but it evokes at least my curiosity.

I can follow his bookmarks on the internet, I can see his photos, I can hear his music, I can read what he things and I can build a mental picture of this character. So for me he is a real virtual character. If you consider the internet as a story and Matt as a character than he indeed applies to all the qualifications that a virtual character needs to be real (or believed to be real).

Trust
The story can/will take place on multiple websites, but to be trustworthy their relational story should make sense. The context and content in different websites should have a mutual connection.

Reality as a proxy for the requested accuracy; subsequently, transparency as the natural way to convey reality to visitors; finally, the completeness implied by transparency. Raphaël Mazoyer “I Am online

So in order to create a real life feeling of trust, you need to be as open as possible. So that as much of the online movements of the character can be tracked.

Why?
The hardest question of them all, is why create an online story. Well first of all to try if it’s possible. Secondly to find out the difference between a real person being online, and a made up virtual character. Since the body is missing in both cases what is the difference? (direct interaction?) The main question is what needs a character to a) exist and b) be reliable (credible). It would be the proof of my assumption of what virtual identity contains. And is the web an useful medium for storytelling.