Smelling A Rat In The Virginia Blogosphere

4:50 p.m. NOTE: After receiving notification from readers seeking some clarification I realize that this post might be a whole lot vague.  For starters, this is concerning a pseudonymous political blog.  I do know what blog is being discussed but want to avoid naming names as everyone else has.  That said, I think by reading Jane’s original post you can get a feel for the gist of the site being discussed as it fits a certain “type” of blog that I’m trying to address generally.  What I see at issue here is pseudonymous blogging and how it creates an ethical dilemma for bloggers and blog readers.  This applies beyond political blogs and continues on a thread I’ve harped on quite a few times in the past: ethical blogging.  I’m sorry if my original post and title misled anyone or brought folks here through what may appear as less than honest means.  If you have any questions, please feel free to leave a comment or e-mail me directly.

No one’s naming names, but Jane at Conservativa has gotten the ball rolling on wondering about the face(s) behind a blog that’s relatively new to the Virginia Blogosphere:

1. The visual format is standard/well-done. No rookie mistakes at all. But also no graphics, photos, etc. to lend personality.
2. Writing quality overall too good to be from an inexperienced writer.
3. Overall tone of the writing: uneven. Mostly boilerplate, but then it flares into mini-rants.
4. Peculiar set of RSS feeds and links in the blogroll. Indicative of a wish to get read and get links in return, rather than expressive of a person with a point of view.
5. It has been up and running less than a year.
6. The author is pseudonymous.

(There’s one more thing which I have not listed, and it’s the real giveaway). The presence of all these things together sets off my B.S. detector.

Scott, Jim Hoeft and Jim Riley all have brief takes as well.

Now, while there shouldn’t be any blogging police asking for a new blogger’s papers, this issue is quite vital to the future of the blogosphere.

Transparency.

There are times when writing under a pseudonym is necessary and makes sense: whistle blowing, impact on employment/day-to-day livelihood, etc. But blogging under a pen name should also be greeted by bloggers and readers alike with a certain level of suspicion. Especially when the blogger comes out the gate appearing to want the widest audience possible with only the slightest hint of actual substance on who is really behind the blog.

The problem with this type of blogging is how the rest of the world perceives it. Many people who don’t regularly do blogs don’t know what to make of a pseudonymous site. Many actually accept this as the norm, and dismiss blogging as a result. Others rely on it too much, which then allows the author to be less than honest in their purpose, creating stories and the perception of actual news where there otherwise might be nothing but smoke and mirrors.

There is absolutely nothing preventing anyone from creating a blog under a false name and stating an outright lie. There is nothing preventing that same person from creating five other blogs under other false names that repeat this lie, that comment on the site to make it seem like this lie has feet, that sock puppet with one another to give the perception of meat when there’s nothing there.

Not that this level of abuse has been seen (yet), but this is the snowball the blogosphere faces if it does not question its sources, whether they be other blogs or anonymous e-mails that pop up in the inbox.

Pseudonymous blogging has its place, and many pseudonymous bloggers have been somewhat successful, establishing themselves either through their reasoned work on their blogs or the poorly kept secret of their real name. But look across the Virginia blogosphere and you’ll see the large number of bloggers who started under a pseudonym and now blog under their real name. Transparency has won out because we’ve been able to assess them, evaluate them, criticize them, and ultimately welcome them into our circles. Even blogging by elected officials and campaigns has been welcomed.

But a healthy dose of skepticism is bound to great new pseudonymous bloggers and rightfully so. A lot of the Virginia political blogosphere is built on a two-way street paved in trust and respect. You have to earn your pen name. You have to earn our trust. And you have to be honest with us so we can do that.

Too many of us take this blogging thing way too seriously to willingly allow it to be abused for short term political gain.