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The first step of doing anything online should be to create your online identity. This is something that most people usually overlook because they already have some sort of online presence already. When writing a personal blog you have to ask yourself if what you write is something you would want others who see you face to face to read. While the debates rage on between the blogging as yourself and blogging anonymously camps, there are definite pros and cons to each one that you need to seriously be considered before starting.

Famous or Real Name

Pros
• Offline world acknowledgment of your writing
• Potential renown as an authority on a subject
• Recognition in the local pizzeria

Cons
• There will be criticism in the offline world
• Potential notoriety for an unpopular view on a subject
• It will be easier for people with adverse opinions to recognize you

Infamous or Anonymous

Pros
• There will be no criticism in the offline world
• Any notoriety you may gather is kept out of your offline life
• It will be easier for you to say what you want to say without fear of recognition for having a different opinion from those physically around you

Cons
• Validation as a potential expert will not be obtainable
• There can be no offline world recognition of your writing
• You’ll never get a free slice of pizza for that awesome post on the Benefits of Pepperoni

An Extreme Case

While blogging as yourself can be very rewarding, the cons are very real. There are stories of bloggers exiled from mommy groups because of a difference of opinion. There are cases of bloggers who have lost their jobs because of the content on their “personal” blogs. There is also the extreme case of death threats being made against a blogger for what they wrote on their blog. That last case is extreme, but it brings to question one of blogging’s ethical cornerstones. Transparency.

The influence of a blog is based upon the honesty of the blogger. It is through transparency that a blogger will garner a more trusting and genuinely honest readership. With all of this need for transparency, doesn’t anonymity contradict that?

There are those that will argue yes, that being anonymous makes you untrustworthy and what you have to say should be taken with a grain of salt. These are the cynics. These are the people who believe that every unknown person they pass on the street is an axe murderer. They will dismiss your voice as that of someone who is dishonest and hiding something. They will not be happy unless you provide your full name, address, phone number, social security number, and blood type. Perhaps, you are one of these people. Unfortunately for them, I am not.

I argue that no, being anonymous does not make you anymore untrustworthy than the named blogger. There are very few tangible benefits to blogging anonymously. Bloggers who blog anonymously, and do so passionately, are doing it for the right reasons at heart. That is all that is really necessary for most personal bloggers… and surely it is more than enough for me to trust their blogging. I encourage personal blogger anonymity, if for no other reason than the openness in writing it will empower you with. I encourage it, for transparency.

The Elements of Identity

There are a number of elements to your Online Identity. Here is a brief list of those elements that I will be going more into detail in future posts:

• Online Name - This is half of the basic building block of your identity. Choosing it as wisely as your parents chose your given name is a necessity
• Avatar - This is the other half of the basic building block of your identity. Choosing it is a great responsibility, since neither you nor your parents got to choose what you would look like
• E-Mail - This is usually what everyone already has, and it is not just a portal for you to others but also for others to you. E-Mail is your online pulse
• Gravatar - Using the elements of your E-Mail and your Avatar, the Gravatar is what could become more recognisable than your offline visage
• Twitter - These are the breadcrumbs that you leave behind, as well as throw ahead of you
• Social Networks - The all popular Social Networking sites allow you to build upon your identity and take it to the next level of online interactivity.