The Waiting Room

Everyone else is talking about it.

Is your blogging persona more serious than your real life persona? I think so. I have been told by people that I am a very strong and assertive person. But the truth is that behind closed doors, I am an insecure wuss.

Do you think the only safe way an academic can write publicly is to write anonymously? I think it depends on what the person is blogging about. If one is blogging about the things that go on at their institution, like I do, then I think one should consider keeping their identify a secret.

Do you think that your blog could ruin your career ? Maybe. But I don't think it would be the worst thing in the world for me since I have another profession to fall back on.

Do you use a pseudonym out of fear? Yes. A few of my colleagues knew about my first blog. Word about the blog made it to a former colleague who did not like me. He wrote very vicious and nasty things about me. I had to change the name, identify and scope of my blog. Now, only one of my colleagues knows about the blog and I trust her completely.

What is the biggest drawback to writing pseudonymously? There is still the tendency to be a little guarded with what you say because of the possibility of being outed.

Has anyone stumbled on your blog and found it accidentally? Not that I know of. (Knock on computer monitor).

Have you outed yourself to any other bloggers? Yes, to one blogger because I thought she could use my help with a very difficult situation that I had expertise in handling. Of course, we keep each others real identity secret. But it is nice to put a real name with a real person.

Has your blog allowed you to experiment with writing? Yes. I think some of my best writing on my blog.

Why do you use a pseudonym? Because I feel a little freer to talk about what's bothering me both personally and professionally. When you are anonymous, you do not have to be “on” all the time.