Anonymity vs. Paid Writing Gig | Bloggers Lair | Yakezie Forums

It depends on how badly you want the position. There are plenty of sites in which you can blog anonymously. However, some of the larger national sites do require that you disclose your bio to the public.

I wanted to be anonymous at first as well but then I just stopped caring eventually. If you want to go all the way with your blog you're going to have to eventually start using your real name. Are you comfortable with that?

I think I'm going to stay anonymous for now. The more I think about it, the more I feel like my writing identity is something I'm not willing to sell at this point. I can see instances in which I would have to give up my anonymity – if I went on TV or wrote a book for instance – but not for writing on the internet.

Because my husband's business is a luxury niche, it would be awkward if clients googled our name and found my writing about us living on a very low income. For me, perception isn't all that important, but for his business, it is.

Post edited 6:22 pm – April 4, 2011 by JT_McGee

Yeah, I'd pass it up too, especially with what you mentioned.  It's not worth the risk to your husband's business, no matter how big or small that risk might be.  I'd definitely consider it in the future though, that would be an excellent way to get your name out there as far as blogging goes!

I can understand why sites are trending toward the fullname/picture, though.  If you put your name on it, you're probably also going to make sure it's 100% awesome, all the time.

@SPF – Zero.  Unless you were on the lookout for a paid writing gig like this that required it…

As far as I'm concerned, you can tell a lot about yourself without having your name on something.  Sure, if you have a blog about nuclear reactors, it'd probably lend you some credibility to have an About Me page with additional information, including a name/whatever.  Personal finance/finance is basic math, and sustainable living doesn't take a doctorate degree to understand–so who cares about credentials?  

In some ways, I feel like having personal details about myself, especially age, is sure to hurt me in a few ways.  Saying that you're "a college student" is another way to say "I don't know anything about anything" to people who are older.  I think that view is most often wielded by people who don't take the time to learn from mistakes of others (since apparently I can't, I'm supposed to learn everything from my own experiences), but hey, that's their problem.   I don't talk about anything that is necessarily breakthrough, nor exceedingly difficult to understand, so I don't know why it matters, but I know it matters to some people.

Anonymity makes people evaluate your content for the content, not for the person, which is a good thing, in my opinion.  That said, there's still a lot of people who value the packaging more than the content, probably more so than the opposite.  Humans…how do they work?

This is a topic I've struggled with a couple times.   I've written my blog anonymously too.    I do so because its easier to be candid about personal things that way.  

A major down side to  anonymity is that it can really cut you out of mass media exposure.   The mainstream press really wants full names rather than 'anonymous sources'.    They need attributable sources for their reporting, so "anonymous" doesn't work.  I had to pass on an offer to write at US News blogs because they wanted first & last name and bios.    I also missed out on tying my blog to an interview with SmartMoney  magazine cause they wanted full name.   I didn't think about that when I started Freeby50. 

If I had known I'd be missing such media exposure then I might have used my real name and just limited the candid things instead.   Something to think about if you're starting out.   You can't easily change it 3 years down the road.

I think it depends on why you are being anonymous. You mention that you don't want it linked to your husband's business, but the why behind that would matter. I blogged anonymously for several years before starting MoneyCrush and now really enjoy no longer being anonymous.