Why blog pseudonymously?

Thu - January 15, 2004 at 03:37 AM in

Why blog pseudonymously?

I've been asked a couple times (mainly by my brother) why I use a nom-de-blog instead of publishing under my real name. After all, I've been on the Internet since 1987, and had a personal website back in 1994. My thesis advisor got mad at me for that, since he thought I was spending too much time on my personal website and not enough on my research. He was at least partly right, too, which was one of the reasons I left graduate school.

Anyway, it isn't like I go to great lengths to hide my real name, since anyone with a small amount of technical knowledge can find it in under two minutes. And it isn't like I'm shy about having my name on the Internet (Google lists 546 hits on my name, which is an unusual one). Plus, all my friends and family know where to find my blog.

The main reason I blog pseudonymously is that, as I have discovered, running a company--even a tiny little five-person startup still struggling to make an impact--is a very public role. Everything I say or do is presumed to be speaking for my company, and I don't want that limitation in my blog.

For example, if anyone could type my company's name into Google and find this blog, I would be very hesitant to post things like this . Or this . Even though these are normal parts of running a startup, we don't usually talk about them with outsiders.

Also, I've occasionally written about frustrations with customers . You just don't write these things if you think any of the other companies might recognize themselves....but it is an important part of doing business.

So. I can either write under my real name and maintain the PR front; or I can blog pseudonymously and feel free to write the inside story. Not much question about which is more interesting.

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Why blog pseudonymously?

Thu - January 15, 2004 at 03:37 AM in