Anonymous Bloggers
By Ryan Healy | January 10, 2008
Since October 2007, I’ve been writing this blog and reading about debt and personal finance on other people’s blogs. What has probably struck me the most is the number of anonymous bloggers in this particular area of blogging.
In business and marketing, most bloggers are not afraid to be themselves. Your average blogger will use his or her real name and publish a photo to go along with it.
But things change all of a sudden when the topic turns to money and debt. Why is this? Are people embarrassed by what they earn or how much they owe? Are they afraid somebody may sue them? Is the risk that great?
With this blog, I thought about using a pseudonym. But I didn’t do it. It is too difficult to consistently use a name that isn’t mine. (My business blog uses my real name, too.)
Another thought I had was that readers wouldn’t value my content or advice as much if I didn’t put my real name on it. “After all,” a reader might think, “if he won’t put his name on it, he must be afraid of something.”
Yet very few “PF bloggers” or debt bloggers have chosen to use their real names. Most of them use names like Single Ma or Single Mommy or Bag Lady or PF Blogger or GLBL Guy or MBHunter, etc, etc, etc. These are a few monikers I’m pulling off the top of my head from blogs I read.
I’m certainly not criticizing this approach; I’m simply curious why someone would want to be anonymous. Comments?
Popularity: 3% [?]
Want more quality articles about debt reduction and living debt-free? Then make sure you join my email list or subscribe to my RSS feed!
Topics: Blogging |
7 Responses to “Anonymous Bloggers”
Comments
« Pay Off Mortgage Before Credit Cards? | Home | Skipping Gifts at Christmas »
January 10th, 2008 at 4:12 pm
I obviously go by my name, but I think there are a couple of reasons people use pseudonyms. One would be to protect their families. When I started blogging, I never imagined so many people would read my blog, so it never occurred to me to use a different name. But there are times now when I worry that I’m revealing too much about my life. But at this point I can’t really change my blogging name, so I just carry on.
I think the other main reason is bloggers don’t want to compromise their day to day jobs, and with more and more employers looking into the blogosphere to see what their employees are writing, it’s just best not to take a chance.
I could be totally wrong, but I believe those are probably the two main reasons.
January 10th, 2008 at 5:43 pm
Aha! I never thought about blogging compromising a person’s job, but that makes a lot of sense. Since I’m self-employed, I don’t really think about it.
Of course, I’m aware of people getting fired for what they’ve said on company blogs… or what they’ve said about their employers on their personal blogs. I just never thought about it (potentially) affecting bloggers on a larger scale.
Thanks for the thoughtful comment, Lynnae!
January 10th, 2008 at 6:08 pm
I don’t want my employer to read my site, or even worse, a future employer. What I do for a living is not connected to personal finance, and I wouldn’t want anything I do that’s connected to my professional life to be drowned out online by my blog.
Also, I’m a single woman and I live on my own. I encounter enough odd people in my every day life to not want to compound that by adding a ‘net stalker. It’s not that it’s likely, it’s just that the consequences would be really bad.
January 11th, 2008 at 9:34 am
Plonkee - Great insights. I understand your concern about stalkers. I think it’s more of an issue for girls/women who post pictures intended to flaunt their bodies. You don’t have any photos posted at all, so you’ve reduced your risk already.
Re: Employers and future employers. I’ve always viewed a blog as an opportunity to prove my writing skills. I believe my blogging activities could actually help me get a job in the future, if I ever need one.
Certainly, some employers may frown upon blogging, but I believe some would look upon it quite favorably.
January 11th, 2008 at 12:17 pm
I use my real first name, but I’d otherwise prefer to be anonymous. That way I never have to worry about being honest about things that I write about work, friends, family members etc.
January 11th, 2008 at 12:44 pm
I think the reason for blogging plays a large role too. Many people start pf blogs to join a community and to be held accountable. They really don’t need to share their real name to do this.
Other people are hoping to either make a career out of blogging, or to further their professional career.
January 11th, 2008 at 2:29 pm
Amanda - Good point. Although you still might not be able to reference friends or family members by first name… otherwise they may be able to figure out who you are just based on your first name, right?
Aaron - Great observation. Like you say, some do it just to be held accountable. Others hope to make a name and a living from it.