The importance of being Turok
first question: Would you change your name to that of a dinosaur hunting video-game character?
I think there are a lot of young men out there who'd think it is a cool idea, and who'd not worry about annoying (or perhaps enjoy annoying) their surroundings by legally changing their name for a year as long as they get a game-consoll, all the games they like and some cash. Wearing a nick-name which indicates some fantastic identity is second nature to that group of people anyway, and so why not be a dinosaur-hunter just as well as your average Joe.

second question: Would you trust your product's reputation to the kind of people who would be willing to do this?
A person who'd be willing to change their name in order to advertise a product might be of the early user, if not the innovator group: risk-takers, active sekers for information or innovation. People in this group are often considered opinion leaders, because they test out things in advance and the people around them know that. I expect this to be the logic which makes Acclaim UK plan for Identity Marketing. They expect the users to be people to be looked up to, people who are admired and trusted, and rolemodels for others.

The flaw in this logic lies just there. If you are a role-model, secure in your social network, known, respected and one who helps form opinions, it also means that you alread are a strongly profiled individual. Your identity is not something you want to flee from, it's something which brings you status and recognition. It's worth much more than a few games and some cash - it's more rewarding to you than the fiction of being a fantasy character: you get your rewards from being yourself.

The people who do not enjoy being themselves are normally insecure, have low self-esteem, have low status and a weak network. They do not overlap with the opinion leaders of diffusion theory.

But hey, they do get attention - just look at me, I am already writing about them!