Nov 03 2006

Anonymous (political) blogs

Published by James at 2:09 pm under Comms, Politics, Web2.0

October saw the incorporation into the blogosphere of a couple of new political blogs, Reclaim Labour and The British Bullshit Foundation. Both are pretty forthright with their opinions - but then they can afford to be, because both are anonymous.

I’m not sure how I feel about these increasingly numerous anonymous blogs. Some are more anonymous than others, some are more outspoken than others. But how should we, the reader, view the political writings of someone who won’t tell us who they are?

Anonymous or not, I do enjoy Guido and Recess Monkey. The jury’s still out on Lord Lucan. But then, I enjoy Iain Dale, Tom Watson and Kerron Cross too - “proppa bloggas”, as Sion Simon would say, who are happy to put their name to their opinions.

Thing is, if one of these Proppa Bloggas decides to declare, for example, that when Tony goes they’d rather not see Gordon as PM, their views carry much more weight than the growing ranks of anonymous “back to 1997″ mutterers.

On the other hand, the anonybloggers can get away with much more without fear of reprisal. Gossip, innuendo and assertion ahoy - no-one knows who we are, so we can say what we really feel.

A couple of blogs ago I criticised a couple of blogs who don’t allow comments. Leo commented that this was like being invited ’round for dinner and having tape slapped over your mouth. In the same way, reading an anonymous blog is like talking to someone with a paper bag over their head. But as long as you acknowledge that the paper bag is there, and the caveats it brings with it, the ensuing conversation can be just as enlightening - if not more so.

5 Responses to “Anonymous (political) blogs”

  1. Niall Cookon 03 Nov 2006 at 3:22 pm

    I think it’s fine until such point that you need them to remove the paper bag so you can validate their credentials. That’s when anonymous blogging falls down.

  2. Guido Fawkeson 03 Nov 2006 at 3:54 pm

    The defamation lawyers don’t seem to agree with you about the fear of reprisal.

  3. Marcus Beltranon 03 Nov 2006 at 4:18 pm

    “In the same way, reading an anonymous blog is like talking to someone with a paper bag over their head.”

    Or, indeed, a niqab.

  4. Steveon 09 Nov 2006 at 3:28 am

    Why do you think people want to remain anonymous? Don’t pretend that we all don’t know that the U.S. government monitors all communication, even this one. Not paranoia. Reality!

  5. Jameson 09 Nov 2006 at 9:00 am

    Certainly one take on reality, Steve - if indeed that’s your real name …

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