"If I wouldn't say it in public, odds are I shouldn't be saying it online."
I've been working on social sites for years, and I disagree with completely. There are many reasons, but here's one. What I think when I'm 20 is not a good indicator of who I am when I'm 40. I remember I posted with my real on some pantheist site when I was young, about why I was a pantheist, and for many years that was one of the top results for a search for my name. I regretted it, and luckily it's falling off of google.
Or, here's another example. I've made a small little community site (yakkstr.com) and lately there has been a lot of talk about non monogamous relationships and our feelings about them. I doubt people would be honest about this if they were using their real names rather than pseudonyms, and the value of the conversation is much greater when people are being honest.
You regret a number of things you've done in your lifetime. It's a part of being human. Do you think Zuck regrets his IM logs:
Zuck: Yeah so if you ever need info about anyone at Harvard
Damn straight he does. He'd love to take it back. It's in the past, and I think we can all agree that it was an immature comment by an early 20 something and he has since matured.
Considering that he's built a multi-billion dollar empire off his view of un-privacy, it's not at all obvious that he regrets that comment or has matured past it. He may have grown that youthful apparent-indiscretion into his adult worldview. He may well be just waiting for us to catch up to his point of view.
Comments
"If I wouldn't say it in public, odds are I shouldn't be saying it online."
I've been working on social sites for years, and I disagree with completely. There are many reasons, but here's one. What I think when I'm 20 is not a good indicator of who I am when I'm 40. I remember I posted with my real on some pantheist site when I was young, about why I was a pantheist, and for many years that was one of the top results for a search for my name. I regretted it, and luckily it's falling off of google.
Or, here's another example. I've made a small little community site (yakkstr.com) and lately there has been a lot of talk about non monogamous relationships and our feelings about them. I doubt people would be honest about this if they were using their real names rather than pseudonyms, and the value of the conversation is much greater when people are being honest.
You regret a number of things you've done in your lifetime. It's a part of being human. Do you think Zuck regrets his IM logs:
Damn straight he does. He'd love to take it back. It's in the past, and I think we can all agree that it was an immature comment by an early 20 something and he has since matured.I think you missed my main point. There is real value to pseudonyms, even if accountability is also good.
If one could be discriminated against for religious views then it's probably a good idea to not use your real name. And the list goes on and on.
Considering that he's built a multi-billion dollar empire off his view of un-privacy, it's not at all obvious that he regrets that comment or has matured past it. He may have grown that youthful apparent-indiscretion into his adult worldview. He may well be just waiting for us to catch up to his point of view.