There is no right or wrong way, it is simply the way you do it.

This is true about most things, and blogging is no exception. Most of the times, as bloggers, we are looking for the right way to blog. What is the right frequency of blogging? What is the best platform to blog? What is the best commenting policy? and the list goes on.

One question that often comes up is whether a blogger should blog anonymously, or should a blogger reveal all the details about oneself, or should some middle path be followed. Different bloggers offer different solutions to the problem.

But, I feel, that there is no solution to the problem that can be generalized. Only you can decide what is best for you, depending upon what is the reason behind your blog. For example, if you are blogging to become a problogger (if that is a word), then there is no reason you should blog behind a screen name; but if you are blogging to vent out some steam, and do not harbour any ambitions about becoming the most famous blogger out there, then blogging anonymously makes a lot of sense.

But the problem of anonymity vs openness has taken a completely new direction with the emergence of the social networking sites. The same problem exists there too. Should you use your real name, or should you use a handle? Should you use your real picture, or one of those attractive 125 X 125 buttons?

Once again there is no right answer to the question. You have to decide for yourself, depending upon what your purpose is behind using these sites.

For this post, I asked a few users of twitter ( What did you say? You don’t know what twitter is? What blogging rock are you living under?) if they were using their real pictures on the site, and here is what they had to say:

“I don’t use my pic as an avatar.. i am writing for the sake of anonymity, can’t do that to well with my face all over,” says Rayleigh_Thorne.

“I prefer real pictures as it makes scanning the time line much easier,” feels sean808080 .

Nipplelicious uses her actual picture, and she says, “actual picture…and I felt it simply made me more real for some …if that makes any sense to you.”

“I use an avatar because its the one I use for my blog so now I use it for all my social networking for recognition,” feels jenwag57.

So, as I said before, it is evident that there is no one right way. It is simply what you want, and how you want to do it.

My advice, however, is that one should try to be as open as possible, especially if one is planning to use the Internet, and these sites, quite frequently. Because, like it or not, there is very little that is anonymous on the Internet and even if you are using a cover, someone who is really bent upon finding things about you will be able to do so.The best thing, therefore, is to use your real name and real identity, and expose only that much of yourself on the Internet that you are comfortable with. Under the guise of anonymity, one tends to get carried away and flirt with that boundary of comfort, and, then, one might have cause to repent later.

What do you feel about this issue?

I have always believed that spontaneous writing is the best form of writing – what comes naturally, is what is right. I can hardly find it in me to revise what I have written unless a few days have passed since I have first written it.

So, not surprisingly, most of my blog posts are served hot from the oven. I have often observed – a few days later – that my post had a mistake, but by then it is too late.

Words are what make a piece of writing what it is. As a writer we have a repository of words, and using them we write whatever we may be writing – a blog post, a magazine article, a short story, or a novel.

But, what do you think is the best word to use?

The one that comes to you most naturally or, do you think that a Thesaurus is a writer’s best friend – one that a writer should consult as frequently as possible.

As I have said before, I believe in what is natural. So, I rarely use the thesaurus unless it is to look for those tip-of-the tongue words. One reason (and I might be wrong with this one) for not using the thesaurus is that when I want to put something on paper, I want to replicate the thought exactly as my mind has imagined it. Since, it is my thought, I feel, it is best expressed in my own words. In that respect, I think, it is rightly said that one’s thoughts are quite affected by one’s language.

Another major reason for not using the thesaurus is that it is easy to get carried away by fancy words, and one can use them just because they are fancy words. Using big words can impress a few people. But if the big words are not relevant, or not needed, then not only does the writer come across as superfluous, but also he alienates many readers.

So, I am a strong proponent of a writer using natural words. What about you?

(Disclaimer: I always recommend the use of a thesaurus, and a dictionary, for learning purposes. After all, one has to keep building on his/her repository of words, so that one is ready with the right word he/she needs it. I just don’t advocate the use of a thesaurus while you are doing the actual writing)