QotW5: Online Deception Is A Part of Life

My identity online in forums is mostly of a seller or buyer. Otherwise I don't respond at all in forums. If there are good deals to be made from C2C tranactions, I will snag the bait like a mad dog and not let go. A small part of this online identity is deception. I get my deals everywhere: local, overseas forums; local, overseas online marketplace, Google, websites that lists retailers and wholesalers etc.. A wide variety of sources makes it easy to bluff.

Minor deception is easy and sometimes essential in order to get your way and to make the transaction worthwhile. I sometimes use it to garner ethos or even pathos. I usually try to keep my deception as real as possible, as close to truth as possible, probably you can term them "true lies". There are no phone calls requiring immediate response or a trustworthy appearance to put up with. The time needed to deceive extends far beyond immediacy in online communications like email, messages left on websites (blogs, forums etc.). Even when phone numbers are given for "fast deal", communication mode normally do not go beyond SMSes.

A type of deception I find useful is category deception as described by Judith S. Donath. By pretending to lack or to possess certain abilities, I can appear to be more vulnerable or in better position to negotiate a profit. For example, one of the rules on making a deal is never to sound desperate, so we have to make use of other information to persuade buyers to purchase. For very low prices, I will often assume the status of a wholesaler or that I acquire the goods from one. From this, I can assure buyers the best lowest price, without looking like I can't wait to get rid of the items. However to enhance my status as a seller of high-priced goods, I often will subtly enforce the authencity (for e.g., DVDs) or the scarcity of the product. In this way also, if I ever make any future discounts, the price drops but not the value.

Most of the time, these mild deception does not harm the gurantees the product makes but increases its value. It is also used to "soothe buyer's nerves" and make the transaction runs smoothly. As the famous cartoon says, "On the Internet, nobody knows you're a dog." At the end of the day, it doesn't matter who you say you are, but how fast your item is shipped, a good price and your customer service.



My altruistic self is only shown in forums for sellers often. I seek to pass on my experience and knowledge of rules and procedures on selling. Not everything can be bluffed. Sometimes the cost of deception also equates to committing a crime, or going against a rule. If I break any rules, I will be heavily penalised either in reputation or in monetary terms. Therefore, when I use a third-party service to sell, I read all the rules and know all of them. Not knowing the rules can be very expensive, quoting from Gary W. Eldred in "Real Estate 101".

Since my identity varies from buyer to buyer, I don't suppose you can say it is deception. A 3D object looks different from every angle. Even the famous Mona Lisa painting has different interpretations to different people. I guess I prefer the interpretive part of life.


Bibliography

Gupta, J. (January 29, 2007). Nobody Knows You're A Dog 2.0. Retrieved Feb 22, 2007 from http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/nobody_knows_youre_a_dog.php

Eldred, W. G. (June 23, 2006). TRUMP UNIVERSITY REAL ESTATE 101: BUILDING WEALTH WITH REAL ESTATE INVESTMENTS. Wiley Publishing.

Donath, J (12 Nov, 1996). Identity and Deception in the Virtual Community. Retrieved 22 Feb, 2007, from http://smg.media.mit.edu/people/Judith/Identity/IdentityDeception.html

Other References:
Presentation from Ian Loe on the Feb 12, 2007.