Here's a blog I found by an anonymous blogger. His explanation for the anonymity is:
... but the truth is that I'm a PhD student in political science and the academy is distinctly unfriendly to people who hold my views (politically conservative, theologically orthodox Christian), and it seems imprudent (at best) to make it that much harder for me to find a job when I do finish the dang dissertation.
He's certainly not the only one at a college, either as students or faculty, afraid to attach their name to their blog. Overall, I don't have a problem with that. However, I much prefer it when those people choose a pseudonym rather than choosing complete anonymity.
Pseudomym's create an identity (seperate from that persons true identity) which people can learn to recognize. In this manner people can learn to identify the blogger and develop opnions about their trustworthiness. It's hard to do this with anonymous bloggers.
Besides, the truly creative bloggers can choose a pseudonym which conveys an important concept that they want to put forth. For instance, the name Cato the Youngest harkens back to Cato the Elder who famously proclaimed that for Rome to thrive, "Carthago delenda est." (Carthage must be destroyed.) When you combine his moniker with his signature line to every post which reads, "Riyadh delenda est," you get a powerful sense of his world view. You may not like it, but you know exactly where he stands.
Anyway, that's my two cents. And just to make myself clear, I'm not condemning anonymous blogging; it's just that I feel if you must withhold your own name, it's better to choose a synonym than to go without a name entirely.
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