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August 16, 2005
Why I'm anonymous
Zounds! Looks like I've created quite a stir in pr blogland because I'm (gasp!) ANONYMOUS! Apparently that's a real bad thing for a writer to be.
Of course we all know that history is littered with scoundrels who have published anonymously (or have used pen names). Losers like Samuel Clemens, Louisa May Alcott, and Ben Franklin immediately come to mind. Time has shown that their credibility has been severely damaged because they didn’t use their real names.
I resisted writing this entry because I don’t want to become another pr blogger who blogs about blogging—which, frankly is a rut a good number of pr bloggers have gotten stuck in. But the folks at Ragan finally convinced me to address the issue because a number of people have questioned my veracity. So here goes.
When Ragan approached me about blogging for government pr professionals, I said the only way it could happen is if I wrote using a pen name. (Ragan editors suggested that I do it anonymously, and they're the ones who came up with the idea for the photo with the hat that caused BL Ochman to wonder whether Matt Drudge and I had been separated at birth.) The reason I gave for not wanting to use my real name was that I did not want to be approached by producers of political talk shows asking me to come on their show as a government pr expert. This happened a couple of times after I had written articles for a pr trade, and I was asked to join a panel to discuss questionable methods federal agencies had used in getting publicity for their programs.
So, let me get this straight, Mr. Producer…you want me, a career government pr person, to speak as an authority on what political pr people in other cabinet-level departments are doing? I don’t think so… The full impact of this may be lost on you who do not work for the federal government, but let me assure you, it would be bad…very bad…to become the guy the talk show producers call because, “well, you write a lot about government pr!”
There has also been some speculation in the blogosphere that I might lose my job if I were outed. I don’t think that would happen. But I probably would be pressured to give up the blog. And I don't want to do that, because I think I have some really useful things to share with other pr people at all levels of government who may be struggling.
So, for those pr bloggers who are looking at me with stink eye, cut me a little slack. This is the only way I can do this effectively.
And for those of you who gave me the benefit of the doubt, namely Trevor Cook at Corporate Engagement, Eric Eggertson at Mutually Inclusive PR and my fellow Ragan blogger Steve Crescenzo at Corporate Hallucinations, thanks for being so gracious.
And now, back to our regularly scheduled programming...
Posted by dbauthor at August 16, 2005 8:25 PM
Comments
Actually, the photo looks more like Harry Anderson of Night Court fame.
But, I can see your point about the Ragan hosting. (First learned about your site via www.canuckflack.com.)
There still might be concern that any "scoops" you may know about would be attributed to Ragan, especially if the info. is also reported by Ragan.
Ideally, you'd have your own site or via blogspot.com.
But, this is not an ideal world. For the shades of doubt or bias that may come with being hosted by a publisher, they will be far out-weighed by your great insights we are looking forward to reading.
Thanks.
Mike
Posted by: MikeDriehorst at August 17, 2005 8:18 AM
Good luck with the blog, DB.
Although it's mentioned in one of your postings, I would suggest something in your "About" pages an explanation of what the relationship is between the blogger and Ragan Communications. Most blogs I've seen that have a relationship between an individual and a company describe that relationship, so the reader knows whether there are any constraints or contractual relationships they should know about when evaluating the reliability of the info.
Posted by: Eric Eggertson at August 17, 2005 10:50 PM
Dear Anonymous.
If you felt I was questioning your veracity, forgive me; I wasn't. In fact, because I know Ragan and trust them implicitly, I have complete confidence in your credentials. My issue is that, in the broader blogosphere, people will find your blog who don't have a clue who Ragan is. I believe they will take your commentary with a grain of salt strictly because your are anonymous. As a subject matter expert, producing commentary on the area of your subject-matter expertise, your identity is your credential. Hence my belief that, for such blogs (not all), anonymity is an issue.
Despite that, I truly do wish you the best of luck.
Posted by: Shel Holtz, ABC at August 17, 2005 11:15 PM
Appreciate it, Shel. Thanks to you, this blog certainly got noticed. And I'm pretty thick-skinned, so no hard feelings.
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