Sal's ➶ ⋆˙⟡

Pseudonym as an escape

Bloggers have written many words about the pros and cons of writing anonymously.

From Dave Rupert’s interview with Manu:

If I were to do it all again, I would maybe try a pen name. Having my name associated to my blog has done well for my career, but what if it wasn’t? What if the line between me and writing was a bit more blurry. Dave Rupert is just some guy, but Snake Renegade… he’s a hero.

In Kev’s post, What About Anonymous Blogging?, he explores reasons one might want to blog anonymously as well as whether we can ever really be anonymous online.

In Robert Birming’s post, Let others know you blog, he nudges people to open up and tell more people IRL that you blog.

If you’re being completely honest with yourself, why haven’t you told others that you have a blog? If the answer is because you’re afraid of what others may think, then spread the word.

From Tadaima’s Anonymity Is Fun:

Anonymity is freedom, and honestly, as a writer, it’s way more fun to write this way.

I wish I’d kept track of more of the posts I’ve seen so I could keep on citing.

My thoughts

Sal is a pseudonym, and I’m happy writing under it. As to why I use a pseudonym, I’ve been thinking along the lines of Dave’s and Tadaima’s points: it’s freeing to write under a different name.

At work, I’m a manager at a giant tech company with lots of politics. I wear a certain hat, keep a certain profile, and endure certain pressures and expectations there. At home, I’m a parent and husband. Different hat, vibe, expectations, pressures. I’m a son, and my parents are still alive and in my life. Different stuff. The list keeps going.

I don’t want to be constrained by any of those personas or expectations in this place.

Which segues into what I realized last night, when I was exhausted and wanting to come escape into this blog: for me, blogging under a pseudonym is an escape from all of that stuff above. This is indeed a place where I feel free to write whatever I want, but more than that, it’s a place where the endless pressures of modern life seem to fade away. Those pressures aren’t relevant here unless I happen to be writing about them.

If I were writing under my real name, I suspect those pressures would be floating around my mind like clouds.

To Kev’s question about whether we can ever really be anonymous online: if a few people poke and prod at my domain name and ultimately figure out who I am, I don’t really care. It’s more about family, friends, and employers not seeing this blog when they web-search my name.

My take, then, is that if writing under a pseudonym sounds freeing or escapist in a good way, by all means, do it!

If you have thoughts on this or other posts to add to my citation list, please email me!