Although none of my readers have ever asked me, I frequently ask myself why do I continue to remain anonymous on this blog. I started thinking about this a lot more after the Girl in Damascus Hoax. If I post anonymously as Chris instead of revealing my full name does it impact the value of my writing?
I always come down to from a journalistic perspective it would be much better to reveal my full name. However, from a personal perspective this would not be the best decision. There are a few reasons I say from a personal perspective revealing my full name is not in my best interest.
First and most importantly, I sometimes post some opinions that can be very controversial. I fully stand by these opinions, and if I count you as a friend you know I hold these views. However, in the best interest of my career I do not wish for my employer or potential employer to view these opinions. One way to prevent my employer from being aware of these views is to remain anonymous while I post them. I am not willing to whitewash my views in order to allow me to post under my full name.
Secondly, despite employment discrimination based on sexual orientation being illegal in the state of Colorado, being publicly out to a potential employer still has consequences. A recent Harvard University study found that people who out themselves on their resume get fewer calls than people who do not. I am not at a position in my career where I can comfortably say I will be with my employer for a long time and not need to worry about finding a new job.
Also important is my privacy in general. Although I share a lot on this blog, there is still a lot I do not share. There are things I do not want to share, and right now my full name is one of them.
What are your thoughts on acting online under your full name? Is it the only way to have credibility?
October 21st, 2011 at 10:33 pm
No, I think in your position your fine to not put your full name, I would put my full name but hey! I’m a kid and I don’t have potential employers yet. But then again if you put your full name and your proud of it, and an employer sees it and doesnt pick you based on JUST that, you know they’re going to be assholes who don’t deserve your employment, Hell! If they do that you’ll see they’re true colors, and eventually when you get comfortable to put your full name here, wouldn’t they want to fire you if they were already like that? Or suddenly when they find out about your sexual orientation/that you are a gay man/about your opinions and they start discriminating agianst you JUST because of that, don’t you think you’ll not want to work for them? Either way they’ll find out (with the way you want your life to be) so I guess it is better for you to get it out now… Think of it this way, if a future employer sees this and wants to hire you for your spirit, then you would know that he would be a good boss. I don’t know, it’s always up to you Chris, I’m sure you’ll make the right decision