The general peer: the public sphere in the age of profilicity (profile-based identity)

What is it about?

Today, identity (of both individuals and larger organizations, such as companies or even nation states) is often constructed through the curation of profiles. This new mode of identity construction can be called 'profilicity' and distinguished from 'authenticity' (the idea that identity is based on some unique inner core). But who are profiles projected to? They are projected to the 'general peer'—a trans-individual public to which one tries to appeal. The many rating and ranking mechanisms in today's society are attempts to measure and anticipate this general peer.

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