I use pseudonyms on my blog (obviously ... having to go through life being referred to as KLo would be interesting, to say the least). I just got thinking about why I do this (privacy is the obvious answer, of course), whether other blogs I read have real names or false like mine, and of course the doppelgangers on my blog and the origins of them.
Belle is the easiest, of course. Her real name is that of a Disney princess (which is probably pretty much telling it to you, since I'd obviously never name my child Cinderella) and Belle from Beauty and the Beast is her favorite, so it was a pretty logical choice.
Addie is a bit more complicated. She's actually named after a character in my first novel, which I realize is a bit of role reversal. The fictional Addie was created before my daughter existed, and it's very odd how much she reminds me of my daughter.
It's funny about Andy. I don't remember where I came up with the name Andy for him ... there's no great story or stroke of genius (if I was just starting to blog about him now, I'd refer to him as Banana Boy, which believe it or not has absolutely no sexual connotation). No, the odd thing is that his father's name actually is Andy ... and his father is kind of a jerk. It makes me feel kind of bad, now, of course ...
My ex-husband Pythagorus is a mathematician, so it seemed evident. Well, he used to be a mathematician. Now he's something completely different. Ah, c'est la vie. I could have called him Edgar Allan Poe Bon Scott Ernest Hemingway something a lot worse ... Let's put it this way--I hope he and Marilyn Merlot are very happy together.
Anyway, is it standard to create fake names on a blog? Do you? I see some blogs with links to Facebook, and I'm just wondering how comfortable that would make you ... it makes me a little nervous. Do you have as much fun coming up with blog pseudonyms as I do (and should I change Andy's name to Banana Boy?), or do I have a simple mind ;)?
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I don't use pseudonyms in my blog, but I also don't get into the personal personals on there. I'm linked to Facebook, and my blog posts show up on my Facebook page for the world to see. My uncle, my cousins, that girl who rejected me in fourth grade, it's open.
ReplyDeleteIn a world that gets far too small once social media is involved (see my Tuesday post...) keeping some level of privacy for your friends and family is important. I don't use last names except where necessary, and I don't write about anyone without (implicit) permission.
And you named your daughter 'Snow White'?
ReplyDeleteSorry, I'm not up on my animated princess names, apparently.
The names on mine are real. But I totally understand your use of pseudonyms.
ReplyDeletemy own name is a bit of a pseudonym on my blog, but i use it because every form of julie is always already taken, but julochka is always available. i use my daughter's real name and i refer to husband as husband, which is actually what i call him in real life (as do all of our friends, interestingly enough). but i do understand why people use pseudonyms on their blogs. what bugs me is when they refer to their children as "kidlets" (i cringe just typing that) and the husband as "DH"
ReplyDeleteI use AZ (Arizona), CO (Colorado) and CT (Connecticut) for 3 brothers. A California brother is Idiot, and I rarely talk about the other CA brother or my sis. My man is my honey. He has a common name, so there's no privacy issue...I just don't think it's relevent.
ReplyDeleteI use J.J (my initials), although I also use my first name. I like being called JJ. I keep my last name anonymous because it isn't a common one. I keep my city anonymous (I live in the L.A. 'burbs') because I don't need anyone trying to find me. lol!
I use first initials, usually, to refer to people. If I think they might read my post about them, I avoid names and initials, and switch genders to confuse them a bit. ;-)
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