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What happens in that minute moment of passage between the flesh and the virtual? That border. That membrane. That slippage. That mantra – magic word – spell – password -
That password.
That word - mixture of upper and lower case, figures and numbers - which takes us through the moment of transition and breaches the borderland between flesh and imagination.
For many users the password is an opportunity to embed something private and dear to you in such a way that you have regular contact with it and no-one else need ever know about that thought or memory. Secret lovers past and present, deceased relatives, personal heroes – we encrypt their names into our private daily lives via anonymous and distant computer networks. From the heart, through the typing fingers, these magic words connect us with our most significant people and places.
And most of us have not just one password, but many. Bank customers, book-buyers, chat-room users, emailers - we all have multiple identities online.
An RSA Security survey found that maintaining online identities is becoming a burden for many people who, on average, use 20 sites that require them to register and then log on afterwards.
BBC Online
Tuesday, 20 April, 2004
