Steve the WildeBeat guy posted a comment way back when I started this blog, noting how annoying it is when bloggers don’t share their names or other biographical details.
I’m not so much annoyed as bemused by the notion that people would go to all the trouble of starting a blog and not attaching their name to it. I mean, unless you’re the next Samuel Clemens, you’re not apt to be the next Mark Twain. So what’s with the nom de blog? (Exceptions granted to people living in police states, of course, and those writing on embarrassing subjects like membership in the Republican Party.)
In my line of work, people who write for a living insist on a byline. It bolsters their their fragile, writerly egos and gets them into social settings far above their stations in life. You might think, well, I’m not one of those bottom-feeding, scum-of-the-earth journalists so I don’t need me no stinking byline.
Well, think about this: If you don’t take credit for your work, how will future generations know anything about your life? People without bylines and who don’t happen to be named in publications (pretty much everybody; google all your friends and see how many of them show up) will have their names published four times in life: in a birth announcment, in a wedding notice, in an obituary, and on their tombstones.
If you’re a bloggger, you can leave a lot more evidence of your earthly existence. Your work can find it way into google’s database and live there (presumably) as long as humans continue to etch electrical circuits into chips of silicon. Thing is, this only works if your name is attached to your posts.
The average non-blogger thinks we all need to get a life, but how many of them have built something from nothing that’s available to a global audience for generations to come? Blogging is worth doing well, but what’s the point if nobody knows you did it?
Tom, I know of a number of people who are not professional journalists/bloggers who write about issues that might lead to retribution from their employers and others if they shared their names.
(I’m not one of those people. I’m really Dan Mitchell.)
I am aware of a large community of people who blog about a completely different topic than that covered in your blog or in my “dan’s outside” blog. Using a pseudonym allows them to write honestly and passionately about their work and careers without risking their non-writing jobs.
The situation would be a lot different if they were professional bloggers. I guess risking your journalism career by being an honest journalist goes with the territory.
Dan
Name is not necessary for me to read a blog, however, RSS feed is a must. I don’t understand why some people don’t provide it. I go to a site more often if I can subsribe to its RSS.
My rules are that I don’t post anything that would:
a) Get me punched in the face if I said it to the guy next to me in a bar;
b) Get me fired from my job;
c) Mortify my mother.
I’ve posted almost every day for the past 10 years and this strategy has kept me out of trouble.
Yeah, damn those anonymous bloggers. Bastards, all of them. And you
Yuu guys realize there’s an implication that anybody who uses his real name is inherently a wimp, sell-out, coward, etc. Now in my case that’s 100 percent true, but still….
my rules are as follows:
a) say mostly outrageous statements with a slight hint of truth to cover all basis..those who would be easily offended will say to themselves “he can’t be for real!” on the other end of the spectrum i might get a few sentiments such as, “thats exactly what i was thinking!” all are welcome.
b) post pictures that make me look a lot more attractive than i actually am. photoshop is a must..if i start looking a little like tom cruise, its..uhh…just the lighting.
all kidding aside, i obviously post my real name as my original site’s domain is just that..as our hosts is. (i think) sure you can gather some info from a whois query..i dont care really. hell, there are lots of ways to get someone’s name and address…maybe the white pages? for me it’s like that Seinfeld episode where Cramer reverses the peep hole on his apartment door. he states something like “you know, if someone wants to help themselves to an eyefull, well, i say, Enjoy the show.”