It struck me recently that I am one of the few people that uses their real name on their blog. The usual reason that is trotted out for using a made-up name is that they “can really say what they mean and feel uninhibited”.
It seems me that this is all very fine that people feel that if they speak their mind using a pseudonym, but you still have an obligation to speak your mind with some sense of responsibility.
Not that I am trying to say that all bloggers are irresponsible, just that I think that if you want to really say how you feel, then you should feel like you could put your name to it.
Maybe speaking your mind would put your job in jeopardy, so that is understandable you would have a problem. Maybe you work for the Catholic church, but you don’t believe in God, so anonymity might be a good thing for you in that case.
However, simply using anonymity to put any kind of libelous and bad-minded comments out in public is becoming a bit tedious. Blogs are not really taken too seriously by too many people, but I think it is getting worse and sometimes it is hard to find a sensible blog-based comment on a subject that might be of interest.
I am finding a few blogs that seem to have good stuff on them, but to be honest, I would like to see a few more blogs with real people’s names.
Perhaps I use my own name because I am almost my own boss and there is not much of a chance that I will say something that gets me into trouble. I doubt that NUI Maynooth agrees with everything I say, but I am being employed to have my own thoughts, so what could they possibly expect?
Also, there is not a lot I want to say that would be libelous of defamatory, so maybe I have the luxury of being one of those people that can use their own names.
What I wonder about are those that have vitriolic blogs and they don’t use their own names. Are they in some kind of personal pain?
If you think I am looking at this from the wrong perspective, leave a comment.
5 users commented in " My Real Name "
Follow-up comment rss or Leave a TrackbackI am glad you feel like you can do that. I don’t use my real name or the real names of others. I sure feel better that others can share the comedy of my life. I happen to like my blog as much as you like yours!
www.savvysinglechristian.blogspot.com
Oh, one other thing. They always say that it’s unwise for a woman to leave personal information that could lead to a stalker in real life. Men don’t have to worry as much.
yes, that is true. I worry sometimes about the fact that if somebody takes exception to what I am saying, they can find out all about me…well, by reading my blog. So, you have a pretty good point there - I had a stalker once. A story for another day…
Thank you D.
Hey Doc.
I’m a little late in commenting, but I’d guess a lot of bloggers just like their privacy - with the general ’slabbering’ sort of comments left on most blogs, a real name could dig up an abundance of personal information that the bloggers would prefer not to be known.
Also, it is in effect a different reality. I would speculate that a number of commenters wouldn’t have the opinions/personalities in the ‘real world’ that their online comments would suggest.
i believe in exercising my right to freedom of speech and thought. alot of idiots feel that they can blow off steam by attacking others on the net. As a casual blogger, i use my real name, but i leave out details like my home address (for obvious reasons). I feel it gives anybody who is interested a chance to tie a real name to a comment. I don’t go out to attack people on a personal level. merely throw my ideas out there.