A good thing about anonymous blogs is that they reduce anxiety that stems from rank/success inequalities among bloggers, particularly those in science. Since I don't know the identities of most bloggers, I can't be intimidated by their real-life greatness. Even when people clearly state on their blogs what level of career achievement they have attained (e.g. my profile says I am a student), it doesn't sink in the way it does when I know who they are. For example I recently stumbled upon a non-anonymous blog by a prominent scientist broadly in my field. I don't think I would leave the same sort of comments there that I leave at other blogs, even ones I know to be written by senior level people.
This observation is a small example of how the Internet can eliminate barriers. Things that might stop people from interacting in real life are irrelevant here. It doesn’t matter if in real life you have a heavy accent or smell bad or can’t make eye contact or have an appearance that is often the subject of bias. If you write an interesting blog (and I know about it), I’ll read it. Not that I would purposely avoid you in real life if you have the above traits. I’m just saying that we get boiled down to the message we transmit on our blogs, without the confounding effects of race, appearance, number of publications, funding, etc.
I know these are not novel ideas, but I still find them interesting.
8 comments:
I get intimidated by some blogs, like the ones related to my profession, chemistry world, or nature skeptical chymist, or some of the seed bloggers (not the ones that I knew before they joined, but the ones I only know from there). I'm not comfortable commenting there, feel intimidated.
That's a really good point about anonymous blogs breaking down barriers. I've often wondered, though, whether the anonymity makes bloggers more honest by reducing potential repercussions of honesty, or less honest by removing means of confirming posted information.
I second mad hatter. This is a really good point. I have actually had the experience a couple of times when I learned who the person behind a blog was and went to check out their real life work webpages with CV's and all and suddenly felt intimated.
In response to Mad Hatter's question, I would say that I am definitely more honest on my blog when it comes to showing the whole spectrum of feelings and thoughts than I am in real life. I don't think I am dishonest in my real life, but there are many issues I find it difficult to talk about with my colleagues. I never write anything on my blog that isn't in agreement with the real me and my real life, but I reveal other sides of the real me on the blog than I do at work.
I think about other bloggers I know "well" (those of you I communicate with regularly or have followed for a long time) as if they are doing similarly, and I perceive what I read on blogs as honest (maybe it isn't?). I also think most of the bloggers are know well are actually doing very well in their real lifes. It is my impression from what people tell about their actual successes and their wit and intelligence, that most academic bloggers are really, really smart people who are very likely to have quite impressive credentials.
However, when I read what I believe are honest accounts of people's struggles and identify with their experience, I don't realise that these are the same people I might feel intimidated by in real life.
On the other hand, reading anonymous blogs by people who share their frustrations or worries as well as their triumps and steps forward has given me a much better perspective of what the succesful people I know in real life are probably really like.
PropterDoc is right, there is definitely a hierarchy of blogs! I occasionally leave comments at Scienceblogs, but I'm much more likely to do so on an independent blog like this one.
But there are definitely fewer barriers than in real life. Female Science Professor is a great example - someone whose rank might make them intimidating in real life seems much more approachable as an anonymous blogger.
I totally agree that anonymity has other interesting consequences in terms of barrier elimination. What saxifraga said about being more honest rings true with me also, and I think that others who might be higher up on the academic ladder, who might not be as honest in real life can eliminate barriers by opening up more, so those below can understand how things work. There is an acculturation into academia that does not always happen in graduate school that can happen by learning things through the examples of others. For instance, I was surprised to learn from Dr. Brazen Hussy's blog that one can sort of "ask" for a postdoc or create a position that might not otherwise have been an option in the narrow confines of job hunting. This led me to think outside the box, contact the person who is now my mentor, and get the postdoc that I now have. No kidding!
Propter doc, in those cases are you intimidated by the reputation of the blog or by the real life reputation of the blogger?
mad hatter, I think I'm more honest here than in real life, at least about the topics I discuss here. Although, I will admit to smudging details here and there to help maintain the anonymity. Now that I know first hand how fragile it is, I will continue to do so.
saxifraga, gee whiz what great points!
cae, FSP is a great example of a blog that isn't as scary as it could be. I actually had it in mind when I wrote the original post.
aliceacademic, how very cool that you got a 'career development' lesson from a blog. I knew they weren't just for goofing off!
I agree that most of the blogs I read strike me as being honest. And I am honest in what I write as well, although bloggers with completely made-up identities probably do exist.
I do think, though, that boiling things down to the message can lead to some skewing of what is perceived as one's personality. For example, I have a tendency to use my blog to complain about things I can't give vent to in real life. I may also pass harsher judgment on people because on my blog, I don't have to be concerned about hurting their feelings.
So even though everything I write is honest, the fact that I would be more tolerant and more compassionate in real life might be completely lost on my blog. Therefore, honesty in the message might still not provide an accurate representation of who one is. I don't really know where I'm going with this...just something I've been thinking about.
propter doc,
It makes me sad that anyone would be ever intimidated to comment on ScienceBlogs.
They asked me to join way back at the beginning, and after a lot of thought, I said no thanks.
Actually one of the reasons was that they don't allow truly anonymous commenting. I've only recently started commenting there myself, because I only recently acquired an anonymous email account.
My point being, you're not scared of me, so why should you be scared of them? Can't you comment under your handle instead of your real name? I think Propter is a very brave person. Don't you?
As far as I'm concerned, we're all equal here. It suits me just fine in real life as on the internet.
No wonder I have problems with authority figures. I don't recognize authority as such! =D
(Btw, I find errors on ScienceBlogs all the time, just like I do on 'other' blogs. Nobody's perfect.)
saxifrag,
I like this part the best:
I also think most of the bloggers are know well are actually doing very well in their real lifes. It is my impression from what people tell about their actual successes and their wit and intelligence, that most academic bloggers are really, really smart people who are very likely to have quite impressive credentials.
This is so sweet! I really wish I had more commenters like you on my blog. =D
My readers seem to think I must be a total loser since I mostly blog about frustrations and 'negative' things. In my view, I'm blogging about things I would like to change, which should be seen as a positive outlook!
My favorite so far was the debate about whether I should blog under my real name, as suggested by Noah Gray. An anonymous person wrote in and said simply, "That would be a bad idea if you want a faculty position. No department would ever hire the person who writes this blog."
Heh heh. And so the evil twin rides on.
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