Is it better to keep anonymous or public?

[BestFriends83]

When I first started about 3 years ago, I wasn't sure if I should keep my identity anonymous or public.

Which is better, the anonymous self or the public one? and..
What do you write in?

[ChampDog]

For me is anonymous...

[Little Miss Me]

I think both have their advantages

When you are anonymous you don't have to censor yourself as much, can be honest without backlash and it's overall a more relaxing experience

However when you are public it is easier to connect with other people, you can appear more trustworthy and friends are a great way of bringing publicity to your blog

[QuirkyJessi]

Both obviously have advantages and the reasons for choosing one or another varies for each person. My biggest complaint about anonymous bloggers is that they act like they can say whatever they want. If you choose to blog anonymously, at least stay true to yourself and don't say things or act in ways you wouldn't be proud of or okay with if people found out who you were.

[tpgevents]

^^^ I agree with quirkyjessi.

You should tell people who you are so that you can engage with them and build your brand (yourself) as a blogger. If not then you should not say anything that you would not say to your mother.

[Little Miss Me]

Originally Posted by tpgevents

^^^ I agree with quirkyjessi.

You should tell people who you are so that you can engage with them and build your brand (yourself) as a blogger. If not then you should not say anything that you would not say to your mother.

I'm pretty sure my mother would have a heart attack if she knew some of the things I get up to...

But I do agree you should be yourself, I try to write as if I'm talking to friends, sometimes my blog is actually tamer than my life if you can believe it! But I feel so much more comfortable writing anonymously, would I want family and potential employers to find out about what I get up to? Hell no! It's the same reason my facebook is kept private

[QuirkyJessi]

Originally Posted by Little Miss Me

I'm pretty sure my mother would have a heart attack if she knew some of the things I get up to...

But I do agree you should be yourself, I try to write as if I'm talking to friends, sometimes my blog is actually tamer than my life if you can believe it! But I feel so much more comfortable writing anonymously, would I want family and potential employers to find out about what I get up to? Hell no! It's the same reason my facebook is kept private

Lol, well I didn't necessarily mean keeping it so PG-13. :P But yeah, more along the lines of, if you wouldn't want your mother, friends, coworkers, etc to see you trash talking people, then you really shouldn't be doing it online on your blog or forums either.

[angie624]

I'm doing my blog (semi)anonymously. It's nice because I can say things that I can't say in front of my friends and family. It's not that I'm trash talking, I'm just talking about sensitive topics. But the downside is that I can't post on Facebook and Twitter to get publicity. So all in all, I think non-anonymity is best, and if I had the option, that's what I would do.

[Laughing Ninja]

I don't post anonymously. One blog is about religion, science, philosophy and such, and I think it helps people trust in information if they know where it comes from. The super-villain blog has my name at the bottom of the posts, but that's it. I just don't know that it matters for a blog like that

[Sakura Martinez]

I tried doing it both ways. I post publicly--only using my Pen-name which is the same as the name I use almost everywhere--on my self-hosted blog, and post anonymously on another blog.

As everyone had already mentioned, both have their advantages and disadvantages. The funny thing is that on my anonymous blog (which is mostly just rants) people find it hilarious and entertaining. I suppose the trick is not going overboard and minding how you speak and how you write what you want to write about.