A friend told me some time back : “You know when you started blogging, you came across as more natural, now your writing seems to be a bit artificial…like you are writing to an audience.”
Though I was a little taken aback by his statement, yet on thinking about it, I realized that maybe he was right. During my first year of blogging, I was not doing much to attract many readers, and I knew that hardly 5 or 6 visitors would be visiting my blog on any given day. So, I was careless about my blogging, and would just post anything that I felt like, and forget about it. But,when the numbers started rising (of course not to phenomenal levels), I had no choice but to focus a little more on my readers than I did before. After all, if some one was spending his valuable time on my blog, it was only natural that I spent time trying to write something that would not be a total waste of time for the reader.
But, while I was thinking about what my friend said, I begin to wonder, as I have done on many occasions : would it not be a better idea to blog anonymously? That way you could write about whatever you wished, without having to worry about anyone judging you on the basis of your posts.
What do you think? I would love to hear your opinion, both as a blogger and a reader before I post my answer to the question in my post tomorrow.
I have blogged with my name as well as anonymously, and I think it’s a lot more fun to blog anonymously. I think you’re willing to be more open and honest in your writing when no one knows that it’s you. I’d much rather go back to blogging without a name.
Interesting write up…
For me its a matter of ones choice which entirely depends on your mood and situation…
Even though its not a fool proof anonymity but some time this insight works as psychological treatment coz humans needs some medium to share their joy or some shoulders to cry…
I’ve done both… anonymously and by my real name, and both have value. There are advantages and disadvantages to both sides of the coin. However, what should be kept in mind is that you stated that when you first started blogging, you had limited viewers and wrote whatever, and that your writing style changed when the hits increased – but what you seem to have forgotten is that it was YOUR STYLE that attracted those additional readers! Why change what’s already working?
I like to divide my blog into categories so that no matter what I write or what style I choose to write in, there’s a “proper place” for it. Sometimes I’m raw and unabashed, sometimes I’m analytical and informative, sometimes I’m poetic… there are a lot of pieces and parts to me and I’ve learned it’s much easier to customize my blog to suit my various styles than it is to try to morph my styles to suit the blog.
Writing under your real name does pose some limitations – there are certain things we don’t want to make available for public fodder, true enough – so if you can’t decide between anonymous or “real”, why not do both? Keep one blog under your real name for the things you don’t mind sharing openly, and keep a separate blog with a pseudonym to suit your more “raw” tendencies with writing.
Just a few thoughts…
*Sparky*
(Obviously a pseudonym ~smirks~)