There’s been a lot of press recently about Apple’s new video iPod (or more strictly, the new iPod that can play videos), and how you can now purchase episodes of TV shows for $1.99.

I’m having a bit of a problem downloading these shows. iTunes won’t let me, for the same reason I can’t buy music most of the time - I’m not in the US.

The assumption that’s been made in all the discussions I’ve seen about the new iPod so far is that the person reading the discussions lives in the USA - there has been an assumption of Identity information made about me before I even visit.

Unfortunately I don’t think we’ll see this aspect of Identity changing any time soon, despite people saying on the Internet, nobody knows you’re a dog. It is already assumed that I am one thing in particular based on my geography.

Can you see this website? (This is what I see.) The assumption is made that I am not interested, or not a potential customer, because something is assumed about me based on my location - despite being a fan of numerous TV shows from this company that are broadcast where I live. And despite this URL being prominently displayed as a source of additional information about the program.

The same goes - again, and again - for iTunes. It is assumed that because I live in the UK, I am interested in music that is released in the UK. It’s assumed part of my Identity is ‘this person is English’ and ‘this person speaks English’. Which might explain why most of my music buying budget goes to one website in particular rather than iTunes or local record stores…

In each of these instances, an assumption of my Identity has been made based on someone else’s description of the credentials I can provide - my IP address, or where my bank account is held. Neither of these things actually mean anything in particular about my Identity, and they’re outside my control.

Technorati Tags: Identity, Digital Identity