Names, Branding & Anonymous Conversations

"I notice that some people make comments on blogs using an alias, and not their real names. Please comment on the value (or not) of using an alias." - Question submitted by Christine from Lakeport in our Law of Action 2.0 program

"Hi, I just met you on Twitter, and..." Guardian Angel - Comment received on BuildaBetterblog.com

"Oh, I'm sorry, I have a different name on Twitter, pandong." - Response to my complaint about not knowing who 'Guardian Angel' is...

Am I the only one who finds these pseudonyms annoying? If we are to have a conversation, any kind of conversation, I want to know who I'm talking to! It turns out Guardian Angel's real name actually is Angel, so that's kind of clever and cute, but still...

Conversations happen between people, not avatars. Especially when it comes to using the Internet for business, there are several important reasons to use your own name. (Get known, get found, etc.)

And there's also a way to be strategic about it for branding purposes. Denise and I both sign blog comments and email and most everything else on the Web using our names plus our brand: Denise aka The Blog Squad and Patsi aka The Blog Squad.

This allows people to use our names but at the same time, brands us for what we do as business blog consultants. We suggest business professionals figure out a way to do the same thing. Use your name, but attach a little branding to it so people can know what field you're in. When used often enough, people will get curious as to what you do and come check you out.

UPDATE: See below for feedback from some of our twitter friends.

Comments

[Debra Dalgleish aka Contextures]

Thanks for the tip. Adding my brand to my name in comments is something I'll do from now on. Why hadn't I thought of that? ;-)

[Jan Tallent]

Makes perfect sense, I am known by my name or my nickname ( jantd ) and expect to KNOW who I am being contacted by, on my blog, my sites, email or wherever. Great tip and you girls are GREAT!

[Boris Mahovac]

I was just thinking about this lately. On Twitter I am EzineMan. My vanity license plates also say EZINEMAN (I've got www. on the left side and .com on the right side of the plates, too)

Also 1-888-EZINE-MAN will be in service soon.

However, my main web site/blog, is YourEzineCoach.com

What do you think about my twitter alias then? Should I change it to Boris - EzineMan or Boris - YourEzineCoach?

[Nakeva]

When I try out a new system, application, email or social network I often use an alias of some kind. Once I figure it out and find value I either change the name or create a new account with livable data. Now that I am working towards a real goal and using blogs/microblogging I would rather people know my name to establish and maintain relationships. You never know when someone could be a reference or a resource that banks on your name or company brand! And it helps that in my case my name appears to be not as common so its almost like using an alias anyway!

I think people should use their name unless it is the name that is actually "branded" such as the post by EZINEMAN above.

Best of life,
Nakeva
* Social Media/Marketing/Networking enthusiast
* IT Professional
* DJ/Producer/Entertainment Planner

[Patsi Krakoff, The Blog Squad]

Hi, Boris, nice to see you here. You see if you'd signed ezine man, I wouldn't have realized it was you. On twitter, I'm Patsiblogsquad. But I also set up an account as Patsikrakoff since people might search for me that way.

My opinion is that I wouldn't want to have a conversation with ezine man, but would with Boris the Ezine Man, or Boris the Ezine Coach. Ezine coach says more about what you do than ezine man, and it ties back to your website.

Thanks, Nakeva, Debra and Jantd for stopping by!

P.S. Jan Tallent - you've got a great last name for branding if you're in any kind of personal development or career or entertainment fields!!! Hope you're using that if you can!

[Denise aka The Blog Squad]

I added a screenshot from some responses to this post we got via Twitter. This issue seems to resonate with some people.