I’ve been thinking about dropping the mulligan moniker and going with my first name, Laura. It’s not like you couldn’t find out my real first name anyway.
I started out blogging using “mulligan” instead of my real name for one reason: anonimity. I am a special education teacher and I do work in an elementary school. While I have not used a specific person (adult or child) in any of my posts (well, maybe one but principals shouldn’t count), I didn’t want anyone to be able to come back at me and say that I have violated the privacy regulations in the school district.
I happen to take privacy very seriously and I would never violate the privacy rights of students or their families. Using the pseudonym helped add a buffer just in case.
For some time now, I’ve been thinking of dropping the pseudonym and going with just my first name. It happens to be a fairly common name so it doesn’t really remove too much of the buffer afforded by the mulligan moniker. I have decided that I will do that for anything I write on Bring It On I’m still not sure, though, about this site.
What do you recommend? Should I continue using mulligan? Or should I switch to Laura?
Holger says:
I think you should go for it. It’s not difficult to find out who you are for anyone who really wants to, after all you own the domain of this blog… Personally, I like it a lot better if people use a real name, makes it more personal. I know that’s just how I feel about it… others may feel free to disagree.
6/6/2006, 7:45 pmBenjamin Solah says:
I’ve actually been considering going the other way. I have this paranoia that bosses are ‘googling’ my name when I apply for jobs.
6/6/2006, 8:00 pmB says:
It really comes down to what you’re comfortable with.
6/6/2006, 8:58 pmKevin T. says:
Laura, definitely.
In your readers’ eyes, using your real name makes you a real person with real ideas and opinions, instead of just another anonymous, faceless (nameless) blogger.
6/7/2006, 12:41 amJoefish says:
Six of one, half a dozen of the other. Laura is common enough that you can’t really be tied to the blog anyway, but a pseudonym does provide more anonymity.
6/7/2006, 1:33 amJoefish says:
Ooh, wait! I just realized if you “become” Laura, for a while it will feel like we’ve got a new friend. I can never have enough friends. I vote Laura.
6/7/2006, 1:34 ammojotek says:
I’d say its fine to go with Laura here as well as Bring It On! First names are usually anonymous enough, and as long as you keep your organizations name and students information off the web, then I don’t see how you could be violating anyone else’s rights. But of course, I’m no lawyer, so take my advice with a grain of salt.
6/7/2006, 12:07 pm