UP@NIGHT

UPDATE (August 15, 2008): This posting was written before a recent name change to this Blog. It had been called, “Mitchell Aboulafia.” But I decided that the Blog needing something a bit snappier. My name is now the subtitle.

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Don’t get too excited. I am not about to engage in any metaphysical or psychological speculations regarding the person by the name of Mitchell Aboulafia, as wildly illuminating as such speculations might be, especially to those Republican operatives seeking to eliminate once and for all the unusual powers that he has been granted by the spotted (although rarely) Guardians of Antares Prime. (The fact is that he would need a mirror universe to reflect on himself in the proper fashion, and we can’t go there.)

I am here to discuss the eponymous blog by the name of “Mitchell Aboulafia.” Since you are here, you know that this blog exists. And yes, there is also an actual person with this handle. He wants you to know that naming this blog, “Mitchell Aboulafia,” was not due to narcissism. (Well, at least it wasn’t the major reason.) No, it was related to claims made in two blogs readers can find below, “The Devil Made Me Do It: Blogosphere, Stop Hiding Behind Pseudonyms,” and “Obama, It’s the Name Stupid.”

You see, Mitchell Aboulafia, the person, has been under the impression for some time that a person should be judged by their actions and words. Unfortunately, the Blogosphere appears to be infected by a new kind of virus, pseudonymism, which produces a psychological condition that allows people to say the most extraordinarily unthoughtful things because they know that people don’t know who they are.

Now don’t get me wrong, as I argue below, there are certainly good reasons to use pseudonyms. And sometimes you don’t need a good reason for using one. It’s just fun. (I know. I know. Worf, pictured above in all his Klingon majesty, would not find using pseudonyms acceptable. A violation of the Klingon code of honor. But Clark Kent/Superman would understand. He’s from Krypton and America, planets worlds apart, and even as the man of steel, he needs our understanding and at minimum dual citizenship and a pseudonym. But which is the pseudonym, “Superman” or “Clark Kent?”)

But speaking of fun, a funny thing happened after I posted the “The Devil Made Me Do It…” on a few public web sites, I got very little response. No one seemed to care. Well, perhaps my writing wasn’t incisive enough. Yet from the comments that I did receive, I don’t think that this was the problem. People didn’t want to bother about the issue. And if they did respond, with several noteworthy exceptions, they generally gave pretty lame reasons for not using their own names.

Below are the major reasons people gave for not using their own names, and how Mitchell Aboulafia would respond. Bear in mind that there are at least two good reasons for using your own name on blogs and commentaries: 1) it commits you to what you are saying in a way that a pseudonym does not. You can be called on what you say, and you may have to defend your words, which is a good thing. 2) You can’t build (political) communities if the actors are pretending to be someone else. At some point you need to show your face, figuratively or literally. (NOTE: I am not talking about YouTube videos. That’s a different kind of ball game, for various reasons. For example, they can reveal lies, etc., in an image based medium.)

1. I am employed in place in which I would be retaliated against if I used my real name.

Completely legitimate. If there is a real possibility of retaliation for speaking your mind on the web, don’t use your own name. Period.

2. There are a lot of maniacs out there. Who knows what they will do to me.

Aboulafia doesn’t think that the maniac problem is quite as great as many people think, just like there isn’t nearly as much crime as people think. However, there is no question that women are more vulnerable than men to harassment and abuse in our culture. So, don’t use your real name if you are genuinely concerned and feel threatened. (But also keep in mind that generalized fear is one way of keeping a population from being active politically.)

3. Names are sort of old hat. What’s really important are the ideas.

Ah, as someone who has taught philosophy for oh so many years, all I can say is: if only this were true. The fact is that disembodied ideas are actually not all that effective. Yes, every once and a while they can make a difference, especially in places like contemporary China, where the regime does not permit a free exchange of ideas. But what are really effective are ideas that are connected to voices, people, who are respected and ideas that are discussed in communities. Yet it’s very difficult to form a community with people who won’t say who they really are. And it’s pretty difficult to develop a respected voice if you remain unknown. (Notice how often those who start becoming influential on the Web under a pseudonym switch to their real names.) Well, you might say, the web is a new form of interaction where ideas circulate as memes that catch on. I say: good luck if you are waiting for ideas attached to pseudonyms to become memes. No doubt it happens. But people also win the lottery.

4. Don’t rain on our parade. The web is a new way of interacting and in this world who you are (title, rank) is not really important. We are dealing with a paradigm shift here.

I am sympathetic to the democratic spirit, but this is a misguided version of it. Utopian, as a matter of fact. If names are really unimportant on the web because titles and rank have been transcended, then why not use your own name? And if we haven’t transcended the importance of titles and rank on the web, then how is not using your name going to be of assistance? The people who have influence will continue to use their names. The powerful don’t need pseudonyms. The haves, have a name. And the have nots, don’t want to use theirs. So you end up reinforcing a system that you claim to oppose by using pseudonyms, that is, in terms of power and influence the playing field remains what it is. (Yes, every once in a while an influential individual will use a pseudonym for various reasons, but this doesn’t undermine the basic point. This is the exception, not the rule.)

5. It doesn’t matter anyway because someone can always make up a name that sounds real and how would you know.

Oh, this is really weak stuff. The issue is not whether people can get away with using names that pretend to be real names. The issue is whether you will feel committed to what you are doing if you pull off a scam of this sort. You won’t. (Hey, and as a reader, I care if I am being lied to.) Further, you can’t build (political) communities on fabricated names.

Okay, I could go on. But that’s enough for now. The bottom line is that if people want to play, fine. But don’t make up a lot of high-minded, paradigm, shape shifting reasons to justify this behavior. And consider what you are losing by not committing yourself to your own words, which may require coming out of the closet and using your own name.

Oh, and if all else fails, and you are really worried about crazies coming after you if you use your own name, you can always follow my lead. Hire the two guys next to the good-looking one at the top of this blog. (And don’t ask, which good-looking guy? Why do you think the blog is called “Mitchell Aboulafia.”)

I was tempted to title this piece, “The Cowardice of Bloggers,” but I figured that this might be needlessly inflammatory. No reason to get people angry by calling them cowards just to get a bit of attention. (READ ME because I’m too controversial for words.) I have to admit that the temptation was great, for it seems that one needs to become the Dr. Strangelove of the Blogosphere to get noticed these days.

For the record, before I begin, I should make it clear that I am not suggesting that pseudonyms be banned from web sites. Nor I am suggesting that it isn’t fun and at times useful to use a handle that hides your true identity. Everyone wants to be Clark Kent on some days of the week. And of course there are serious political reasons, for example, retaliation by employers or governments, for hiding one’s true identity. No question, there are good grounds for using “pen names.” With this string of caveats in place, I now make my case

The Blogosphere is about to be buried in junk. When exactly it will be totally buried is anyone’s guess, but I see the sphere turning into the electronic equivalent of Wall-E’s earth, probably before the glaciers melt. If you go to sites that run political commentary, you will find piles of junk written under “You don’t know me or What Me Worry” pseudonyms. Yes, you will also find serious pieces written under pseudonyms, but often the individuals behind these contributions are known to various communities of bloggers. The writer feels a commitment to her work because she has a reputation to maintain.

Words are forms of action, and like other forms of action we bear responsibility for them. How we act and what we say are not separate from who we are. (This is why we should remain skeptical about those who keep telling us that John McCain isn’t really acting like himself. No, he is acting like himself. His actions and words are John McCain. They define him and he shouldn’t be allowed to walk away from them. I know that I ain’t waiting around for the real McCain to show.) Every time you post a commentary or a blog, you are in fact saying something about who you are. You can say, “Well, it’s just a game, so whatever I say doesn’t really matter. As proof of the fact that it is a game, I am not signing my real name.” Ah, and there is the rub. Junk and more junk because people don’t feel responsible for what they are saying.

Keep in mind that many sites have just wanted to build traffic. One way to do this has been to encourage pseudonyms. Venting is very seductive. And it takes a lot less time, thought, and effort to turn out a “What Me Worry” comment under a pseudonym. But lots of people feeling this way will increase the “hits” on sites, which translates into advertising dollars. Think about this aspect of the pseudonym phenomenon: when you use one carelessly and often, you may be playing into the hands of corporations. In other words, you are allowing yourself to be used.

Okay, you say that no one is forcing anyone to read blogs or commentaries. Fine. (Although junk comments often take up a good deal of space on otherwise serious sites.) But my concern here is not only for the readers and the cluttered Blogosphere. It’s also for the authors. Saying something in one’s own voice involves a commitment to oneself. A commitment that can be transformative. So, yes, one can use the Blogosphere to vent, but in the end it’s a no growth proposition. If you just want to curse at the sky, so be it. Nothing is going to change and you will end up not taking advantage of something that might be transformative, expressing yourself in earnest.

So, what I am recommending? I am suggesting that more bloggers come clean and that more sites encourage people not to use pseudonyms. The Blogosphere has the potential to become the public square of the twenty-first century. However, we are on our way to filling it with so much junk that the nuggets are getting harder to find. And I am not sure that even Wall-E will be able to get us out of this one.