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.