It may seem strange to bother to set up a blog under my real name and then not bother to fill it with blog posts. However there are valid reasons to do such a thing.

Know your audience

The great lesson of any writing or speech giving is to know your audience. That is, you should tailor your subject and presentation to the interests and expectation of your audience. In real life, most of do this without thinking. We may share a joke with friends that we would never share with professional colleagues. We may have political arguments with good friends that we might avoid with neighbors. We may discuss personal details with families that would define the term “too much information” for everyone else.

We partake of such market segmentation not to deceive, but because we are aware that different audiences have different expectations. Good friends may enjoy vigorous argument, remaining unoffended by such differences in a way that neighbors may not (because friends know each other well, they understand that such differences are only a small part of the overall person). The “naughtiness” of that off-color joke shared with friends can be enjoyed because you are aware of each other’s tolerance for offence. Personal discussions that would be acceptable for family or loved ones may be embarrassing for others with whom you are less acquainted. Colleagues may appreciate in-depth technical or professional discussions that would bore or alienate others.

The problem with blogging is you cannot segment your audience. While ninety percent of your audience may understand that a comment was mischievous humor, some may be offended. While in real life it is possible to misjudge another’s taste and cause offence, in blogging it is certain. Friends may tolerate, nay even enjoy, vigorous political debate. They can comfortably differ, where others may draw harsh judgments. I have heard many expressions of the “I would never date/employ a Republican/Democrat/liberal/conservative” attitude.

It is true that the most popular, and indeed enjoyable, bloggers or commentators are often the most opinionated. That is fine if you aim to make your living as a “public intellectual.” For the rest of us such staking your position may offend neighbors and close employment opportunities. Arianna Huffington and Rush Limbaugh have been able to turn opinion into good living, the “Philosopher Geek” not so much.

Not so anonymous, not really cowardly

The term “anonymous coward” likely originated in the technical forum Slashdot.org and referred those who posted without a user name. However, a better term for anonymous blogging might be pseudonym blogging. It is more in the realm of a pen name than anonymous. As such, it can claim the company Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay (believed to be the team who wrote the Federalist Papers, under the name “Publius”).

Because the pen-named blogger has a home (blog address) and a name (their adopted screen name), they are not truly anonymous. Indeed, the audience will hold them to account for their writings and online conduct just as they would in real life. If you shout “Fire!” from your blog, you suffer consequences for any panic caused. While the real you may escape embarrassment, the online you will suffer the same loss of trust and confidence they would in real life. The same holds for pseudonymed commenters: they (or at least their user name) will suffer a loss of trust or prestige should their behavior or comments deserve it. The worst trolls tend to be anonymous (no user name) or constantly change user names (only their style giving them away).

My “secret” blog has fallen fallow recently, so perhaps I may actually update this real blog. However, you (and the spam bots) should not expect too much.

Notes

You should not believe that I particularly enjoy off-color jokes nor hold disreputable opinions. It is merely that with a global audience any humor or opinion will find a party to take offense. The ability to write without wondering what neighbors, family, or potential employers might think is liberating. Many of the most interesting topics are also the most controversial.

Under my pen name, I achieved a modest audience (far larger than here) and made some online friends. Such communities have similar joys, duties, and expectations to their real-life counterparts.

A nice video that reminds us that while we remember many wars through black and white photos, they are all fought in color.

In case you were wondering:

Veterans Day does not include an apostrophe but does include an “s” at the end of “veterans” because it is not a day that “belongs” to veterans, it is a day for honoring all veterans.
United States Department of Veterans Affairs FAQ

I was in a supermarket and realized that not only did I recognize the music playing, I liked it. Lest you think this was some hip place that lays food items out in straw and uses artistically hand-drawn signage, I can assure you it was not.
[Indeed such a place would be playing classical music not the classic rock that I recognized.]

This makes me feel almost as old as learning those new CD thingies are thirty years old.

Notes:

Food items in straw, muzak turned to the classical channel, and those artsy signs are probably a good marker that you are overpaying for your groceries. You would not catch Sam Walton merchandising with such foo-foo nonsense.

I can (try to) claim that gray hairs make me look more distinguished, wise, and mature, I can see no such benefit in appreciating supermarket music.

We live in a world that is ever more electronically connected yet personally disconnected. A world where we make deals over the telephone or by e-mail. A world where we may be no more than a price on a screen. A world where people increasingly come together for a single project and then disband to the far corners of the earth.

In such a world does that thing called character still count?  If you can get the job done, does it matter how? If you are only going to be together until this project completes, who cares? I would like to think that not only does character still count, but it counts even more.

In the majority of professional situations it is given that your colleagues are competent (mostly, although not always, true in my experience). But what happens when problems arise, when the schedule is blown, when a major product flaw is discovered? It is at that point that we realize that our colleagues are more than a set of competencies, more than a price on the screen, more than a contact on our e-mail list. It is at that point we realize the importance of character. Some projects succeed and projects fail, that is life. What counts is the manner of their success or failure.  We do not remember Enron because it failed; we remember it because of what happened before it failed. The intellectual brilliance of the characters involved is lost to the utter lack of character of those involved.

In a world of deals by phone and fax news travels faster than ever. So does reputation. Does character still count? I believe that the answer is yes. I hope you do too.

Well there is one small change that will not only increase your happiness but also decrease your dissatisfaction. It will take some effort. You will have to lift a finger. The finger you lift will be the one you use to turn off your television.

Television is the uninvited guest that we no longer notice.  This guest sits there taking our attention with its incessant droning. If it were a child it would have long ago been sent to its room. When the television is on our conversations stop and our attention is drawn to this loud and intrusive guest.  Instead of sharing our stories we listen to this bore repeat the same tired tales he told us yesterday. Sure he is bright, flashy, and can even be entertaining but sometimes he needs to be told to give it a rest.

Television by its nature and design will tend to make us dissatisfied. The shows are filled with characters that are impossibly good looking, unusually smart or funny, and who lead improbably exciting lives. Between these dramas are messages from advertisers that are designed to make us feel like something is missing in our lives (a gap that can be filled by purchasing their product).

I have bad news for you. Purchasing that new BMW will not get you that promotion. Changing your brand of beer will not make you more attractive the opposite sex. [You should also heed Shakespeare's warning that  "Drink provokes the desire but takes away the performance."] That new pair of sneakers will not turn you into an athlete. The latest insta-meal may save you time, but it will not save your family. If you want to do that then turn of the television and try talking.

You do not have to heartlessly throw your old friend out on to the street, but you can let him know that sometimes he should shut up and listen. So lift a finger, hit the off switch, and send this attention-seeking child out into the garden to play. You can always allow him back in later, but only if he promises to be good.

Notes:

I did not mention reality TV, but that is only because it is as fake as the drama shows.

I am not married but here is some advice for married couples. Get the TV out of the bedroom. Leno and Letterman et al. are no doubt good company, but don’t you have other things you could be doing?

Whatever about the sound quality, the album art is just not the same reduced to CD size. The impact of something like Dark Side of the Moon is entirely lost when it not on a 12 inch square. There was some excitement in sliding that big disc out of its cover, placing it carefully on the turntable, and gently lowering the needle. There was a certain joy in sitting back the gatefold cover open in your lap, studying the lyrics.

But tell that to young kids today and they won’t believe you.