Die With Your Mask On…
My friend EDW Liz, back when she was blogging (ha!), wrote a post about using one’s real name versus using a pseudonym on one’s blog. She makes some interesting points. Enough that I thought I would write a post about the same subject and my own thinking on the matter.
I’ve always used Patrick D. for as much of my online activity as possible. In the beginning, due mostly to paranoia, I guarded my last name and the names of those around me very strictly. Especially with my kids. Even today, you’ll draw my ire if you post something with my kids names on the Internet. They aren’t old enough to decide how much privacy they are willing to sacrifice, so I go to some pains to limit their exposure.
In fact, I would say that if you use a pseudonym long enough, you might actually create some brand recognition. Like Dooce, for example. That’s not her real name, but it’s far more widely known than her real name. So maybe that’s a reason to stick with a fake name. (Although technically, mine isn’t a fake name. My first name is Patrick and my last name starts with a D.)
Facebook is probably the one exception. My last name is clearly displayed. By choice, mind you. I use Facebook as my haven on the Internet. I only friend people I actually know and I have my privacy settings at levels I’m comfortable with.
But here’s the truth: my last name just isn’t that big a secret. Anyone with even a smidgen of tech-savvy could find my last name in under thirty seconds. It’s just that easy, these days. So, if you find it, good on you. That piece of information and $1.25 will maybe get you a cup of coffee and an RV insurance quote. But leave my kids out of it.
August 29th, 2010 at 7:05 pm
Valid points.
I think I’m about as “anonymous” as you are, mainly by choice. The concept of my original blog, completing one “new” activity every day for a year, didn’t lend itself to secrecy. Even though I’ve completed that challenge and moved on nothing I do, or write about now, is the least bit secret or scandalous.
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August 30th, 2010 at 11:36 am
Yep, I’m digging my ‘BeccA’s Buzz’ branding for all those reasons
Also, just for the record, I don’t know of anyplace you can get a cup of joe for only $1.25….maybe at home.
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Patrick D. Reply:
August 30th, 2010 at 11:45 am
Yeah, I don’t buy coffee. Don’t know the going rate.
August 31st, 2010 at 10:10 pm
I’m sort of randomly anonymous. My blog has my first name and my kids’ names. I call my husband The Husband. Because he is. And I am sure that if you wanted to, you could figure out my last name.
Are you Patrick Dempsey? It’s okay, you can tell me.
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Patrick D. Reply:
September 1st, 2010 at 6:26 am
Shh, don’t tell anyone, but yes, I’m Patrick Dempsey. I’ve been hiding out as a fat, ugly dude in the Midwest with two kids and a sickly wife to keep the paparazzi off my tail. It seems to be working.
September 1st, 2010 at 3:11 am
I suck at being anonymous, really. I’m so personal I practically invite you in. I still don’t know what I’m going to do. I miss blogging, but there’s so many reasons for me not to right now. Sigh.
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Patrick D. Reply:
September 1st, 2010 at 6:28 am
What you could do is put a blanket and some cocoa out by that bush outside your house. The nights around here get a little chilly.
And the only reason not to blog is because you lost both your hands in a bizarre farming accident.