Les Jones: Should You Blog Under Your Own Name?

May 04, 2008

Blogging > Should You Blog Under Your Own Name?

Marko and SayUncle are blogging about blogging under your own name and anonymously/pseudonymously, respectively. Uncle refers to it as pseudonymity, because many people know who he is. As we'll see that's probably the correct point of view.

I understand why some people don't want to blog under their own names. Truth be told, blogging under a pseudonym should be the default decision for most people. You can always reveal your name later. Some of the reasons you might not want your name out there include the potential for stalking or for future employers searching for your name to see what you've been up to online, which is happening more and more.

Having said that there's a downside to pseudonymity that's rarely discussed. If you assume most people won't know who you are you're more likely to blog about topics you wouldn't otherwise, to reveal details you shouldn't, or to behave in a manner or tone that you wouldn't if your words were attached to your name for all the world to see.

Example. In comments at one blog I was surprised by a person's anti-handgun stance and said something to the effect of but you've got a so-and-so pistol yourself. His response was gee, thanks for telling everyone I've got that gun, to which I responded, dude, the only reason I know you've got it is because you told the whole world about it on your blog. His reply was, yeah, but back then I was anonymous so I didn't care that people knew I owned a gun. Once he started blogging under his own name he regretted having revealed that detail when he was writing under his nome de blog.

If you blog pseudonymously your name may not be splashed on the page, but inevitably some people will learn who you are. At that point concealment of your true name becomes a matter of Internet etiquette - most people will respect your pseudonymity unless you piss them off. At that point the threat of revealing your identity becomes leverage that can be used to intimidate you.

Secrecy is fragile. Once it's broken all its protections are gone forever. If secrecy is your only defense you only have one fragile wall of protection. It's probably best to use discretion as your primary defense, with secrecy as a second wall in case your discretion fails.

On my blog my name is right there in the URL. Consequently I try to measure what I say and reveal details about my personal life and my family selectively. It would be trivial to find me in the real world, but I don't worry too much about that because I'm a guy, a big guy, and I also blog about the fact that I'm armed. (Conversely, blogging about guns could become a problem if a future employer who didn't like guns Googled my name.) For others, the threat of harassment or stalking is very real. For a single, unarmed woman the problem looms much larger.

I also know that some people I work with read what I write. That's why I only talk about work in the most general terms and don't gossip about my company or co-workers. If there's something at work I don't like I get it out of my system the old-fashioned way: I complain about it to my wife.

Posted by lesjones | TrackBack

Comments

Anyone wants to know who I am, just gooble me. You'll find this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swamp_Rabbit

More folks know me by Rabbit than ever called me by the name on my birth certificate. They amuse me by trying to pronounce it, but hey, one has to have hobbies.

Regards,
Rabbit.

Posted by: Rabbit at May 04, 2008

I'm not a heavy-duty blogger. Now that we've got wonderful things like RSS feeds, I don't have to be to get read when I have something to say on a semi-regular basis.

But ever since I became an adult and was allowed to use my last name online, I've never been squeamish about doing so.

The problems it could cause, as far as I can imagine, would have to be limited to either stalkers or employers/family finding my website and being somehow offended at the sight of guns and video games.

Like you said, the stalker thing is a non-issue, since my household is well-armed. Most of these folks are creepy, but not stupid.

Family and friends aren't an issue any longer, either. You get to choose your friends, and certainly some of moved on after meeting me and deciding they aren't so keen on those scary guns. You don't get to choose your family, but I'm discovering that this works both ways: The family members that are put off by my choices have to put up with me from a distance, just like I have to put up with family that I'm not overly fond of.

Employers are where it gets sticky. At my current employer, everyone knows I'm armed and is fine with that. I probably won't be there forever, and the folks that interview me for my next job may very well turn me down because I'm one of Those Guys...

But that's OK. At least, from an idealogical standpoint it's OK. It's not worth living my life in fear that somebody, somewhere disapproves of what I'm doing just so I can eventually work for someone that I'll have to hide large portions of my life from.

I'm sure that my next job search is going to be tougher because of this. But why live in fear just so later I can be in even greater fear? If I'm up-front now, life gets that much sweeter every year because the folks that hate me are long gone, but the folks who accept and respect me stick around.

Posted by: Paul Simer at May 04, 2008

I guess it's because I used to be a print journalist, but I feel that if I write something for public consumption, my true full name should be on it, every time, and it should be traceable to me; I would feel less than honest and ethical if I did not own and take full responsibility for what I write. That is just a personal thing with me, and I don't necessarily hold others to the same standard. I have gone out of my way to support the anonymity and pseudonymity of some writers on the Web, though some writers do abuse the opportunity, no doubt about it. I just really don't care if a writer uses his or her real name or not, though I might draw a conclusion or an opinion about it.

I make it a point to use a different computer when I'm commenting on blogs than I use for my work or other personal business, because of controversial work I'm involved in and the attention I've drawn from some quarters. But I've never had any problems because of this personal real-name policy, unless you count the black SUVs parked up the road.

Posted by: Donna Locke at May 05, 2008