Branding…
Yesterday there were a couple of blogger sessions, one being a panel discussion, and another being a blogger BOF. One of the things that Volker Weber brought up was the concept of posting under aliases. It’s something he doesn’t really like, but it’s something that, as a person with an alias, I disagree with.
You see, I’ve been posting as Greyhawk68 for nearly 20 years. I was Greyhawk68 when I was posting on BBS’s over a 300 baud modem with my Commodore 64. I’ve never used it to hide my identity, I’ve always let people know that I am John Roling. For me, it’s a branding issue. More people know Greyhawk, than know John Roling. Even with all of the atticles I’ve written for magazines over the years, Greyhawk68 will get far more ranking on Google and EgoSurf.org than John Roling.
I think that’s a good thing.
I’ve always been consistent, I always link back to my blog when posting comments on other’s sites, and I never have hidden the fact that I am indeed John Roling. And others such as Tom Duff ( Duffbert ) and Scott Wenzel ( The Turtle ) I think would agree.
Technorati tags: lotusphere2006
January 30, 2006 @ 11:06 am
In my view, though, a brand “Greyhawk68” or “Notesgirl” or whatnot isn’t an alias in the way that Volker meant it. My understanding, and I agree with it, is that standing by your words is what matters. If you do that with your first and last name, fine; if you do that with a nickname or brand that’s easily traceable back to *you* — which is what you do — I don’t see that as a different thing….
Says the girl with the “notesgirl” nickname.
But, that’s just me!