Because it’s bogus.
What I mean is that, as amusing or clever as anonymous blogging can be (of course sometimes it’s nasty), it’s still slippery. Only half credible. And therefore ultimately an artifice. It’s not real. It’s not *authentic.* It doesn’t carry the weight of legitimate commentary.
Even when an anonymous blogger makes a good point, we find ourselves saying hmmm…
The obvious, of course, is that an anonymous blogger is cloaked by er, anonymity, and can toss grenades at anyone or any company without fear of being personally attacked in return.
By contrast, the essence of effective business or corporate blogging is that it *reveals* something about the individual blogger… his or her smarts about a particular issue or discipline, whether it’s PR or PVC (polyvinyl chloride). Or lack of smarts. Or willingness to take a hit from readers. We are usually as interested in the “who” of a good corporate blog, as in the “what.” Of course if you’re the blogger, it can be a bit scary to reveal who you are and how you think.
A company that has a corporate blog – or officially sanctions employee blogs – usually reveals something about itself by virtue of having the blog. The company is willing to let a senior exec – or a lower-level employee – speak candidly and risk being criticized. Unless of course the blog is written anonymously in which case there isn’t much point in readers taking the trouble to converse with the blogger.
God, am I getting tangled up here… see my comment below.
So my take on Strumpette (A Naked Journal of the PR Business) is… baloney. Heck I could be just as outrageous and clever and nasty [did I mention sexy and catty??] if I didn’t sign this blog. Dontcha think?
Useful Links
Who is Strumpette? (The Washington Post – Howie Kurtz – July 19, 2006)
Strumpette’s snarky post about Shel Holtz. [Shel, are you too cool or what to get noticed by Amanda?!]
Interview with Strumpette in The Ragan Report
About Strumpette
Apparently it’s four people. Principally Amanda Chapel but also two other women and a man. All are PR professionals; none wants to reveal her or himself. Oh so much easier to act like you’re in seventh grade that way. Although she/he/they are wickedly funny sometimes.
Two asides
*Of course, you can use the blogging platform anyway you like. I make that point repeatedly in The Corporate Blogging Book. As long as you’re comfortable with the fact that you (as a corporate blogger) may not be publishing a blog, per se. What you may be doing is using blogging software as an instant publishing platform.
** I make exception for anonymous blogging for those writing from war-torn countries or who live under repressive governments. See Global Voices Online.
Technorati: anonymous blogging, the corporate blogging book