Anonymity

When I first started publishing to this blog, it was meant to be just an outlet; somewhere to vent and rant and rave; really, a diary of sorts. And it was fun, for a while, feeling smug about the fact that I was writing about stuff and people around me and they had no idea; even if someone did stumble upon my blog, they wouldn't know who it was; the whole point of writing under a pseudonym.

But after a while, things got, well, a little boring. The whole deal of having no one know about my blog also meant that no one visited. The whole fantasy of people coming across it and marvelling at my literary skills and prowess with the written word began to fade fast.

So I told one person. And it stayed that way for some time. Then I happened to mention to another that I had a blog and they 'forced' the URL out of me. And then another and another and yet another. So now, a fair number of people have knowledge of the presence of my blog.

Which is good; but it also means that the original purpose of the blog is lost. I can no more write exactly how I feel and what I think; I have to tone it down a notch since these readers of mine also know, or can hazard a fair guess as to what/ who I'm ranting about and it may not sit well with all.

So what do I choose? Anonymity and the enormous power that comes with it? The means to write what I want, when I want, about whatever I want; all the while hidden safely behind the all protecting shield of my nom de plume? Or do I let everyone know who's behind the mask and let them feel compelled to reply and post comments so I can feel pleased with the fact that I do, in fact, have some readers and my pages are not relegated to the dusty, hard-to-reach, virtual upper shelves of cyberspace's library of innumerable blogs? Tough one.

And I'm not the only one who ponders this dilemma; I think all start out with the need to publish anonymously, moving on to the want to be read and finally reaching a crossroads where they must decide which way they want to head. Whether the desire to be heard outweighs the requirement to remain safely hidden in the shadows.

For the time being though, I think I'll be content with just a few, loyal subscribers of my prose while keeping my true identity a secret from the masses.

2 comments:

The Red Queen said...

Absolutely true. I'm in the same situatiom right now. I've been caught out! I suppose this means you can tellher it's my blog. Maybe I'll open up a new blog for personal relecton and another for personal gratification?
:P

Venkster said...

You dont have to have this dilemma...just write what you want about who you want, and put it just the way you want it, so long as you arent intentionally adding material to hurt why should it matter...why does everyone have to care so much about what others around them think? Do what YOU want, not what others want you to do...

(I know I know, you can say I'm just a beeyaatch :D)