What a funny old week it’s been. Having blogged a lot about identity in the past, the week began with two peak time TV viewing programs about identity on Monday: Who do you think you are? on the BBC and Identity on ITV.
These programs are all about finding out about you and then keeping your you-ness your own.
In the case of the Beeb, celebrities trace their family history and find out what skeletons, heroes and rogues they have hiding in the cupboard.
In the case of ITV's Identity, these descriptions give away the idea:
Identity is a new series following an elite police unit working on identity crime. In the first episode, a man arrested for shooting a police officer claims he has been set up by an identity thief. In episode two, the team are brought in on a murder investigation when a young British woman is killed abroad - and her passport used by another woman after her death. And in last Monday’s episode, a woman is in the witness protection scheme when her name is leaked online.
Why am I blogging about this?
Because identity is now entertainment.
Take the new exhibition being advertised all over London at the Science Museum with the theme: Who am I?
Who am I? invites you to explore the science of who you are through intriguing objects, provocative artworks and hands-on exhibits.Discover what your voice sounds like as a member of the opposite sex, morph your face to see what you’ll look like as you age, or collect DNA to catch a criminal in our brand-new interactive exhibits. Investigate some of the characteristics that make humans such a successful species, such as personality, intelligence and language. Reflect on the big questions that new techniques in science are raising, and explore how your genetics and brain combine to create your unique identity.
This exhibition is on every billboard on the London train network ...
... right next to this one from Experian ...
What all of this tells us is that our uniqueness is important. Our identity is our key to unlocking the riches of the world or losing them. Our identity is so intrinsic to access and ownership, that it is our most important asset.
Our identity is us.
You are you and me is me thanks to this unique code.
In other words, we are all individuals. We are all different ...
Chris M Skinner
Chris Skinner is best known as an independent commentator on the financial markets through his blog, TheFinanser.com, as author of the bestselling book Digital Bank, and Chair of the European networking forum the Financial Services Club. He has been voted one of the most influential people in banking by The Financial Brand (as well as one of the best blogs), a FinTech Titan (Next Bank), one of the Fintech Leaders you need to follow (City AM, Deluxe and Jax Finance), as well as one of the Top 40 most influential people in financial technology by the Wall Street Journal's Financial News. To learn more click here...