Yet, retrospectively, none of the content has been that controversial and there is certain merit to signing one's work:
- It informs the reader about the biases of the author. Some may even argue it's a more ethical way of writing.
- It may help to create a sense of connection between the author and the reader.
- It may pique the reader's interest in continuing to read if he finds the author somehow relatable.
- It lets the reader know what other works are by the author so that he can judge the work in the right context.
- It allows the reader to judge whether the author is a reliable source.
So, my name is David Kopec, and I'm the author. I'm a software consultant in New York. That means I build iOS and Web apps (mostly for startups). I'm also the author of Dart for Absolute Beginners which in my highly biased opinion is an excellent starting point for learning how to program. I haven't yet written about politics or foreign affairs here and I don't plan to. I hope to keep the hate mail to a minimum. I also plan to start using this blog as a platform to write about more technical topics.
I started this blog in early 2012 when I was quite interested in the concept of anonymous content creation. Just a few months before that, I had launched the anonymous poetry app Poemz as an experiment, which has been mildly successful. As its sole moderator, having to read thousands of mostly anonymous poems, I've learned a lot about the strengths and weaknesses of anonymous content creation. The biggest feature requests are for less anonymity - users want to have profiles and commenting systems. They want to have some sort of identity and voice. Some users find ways to link to their real-life online profiles, which is of course against the anonymous spirit of the app.
In that time period we've also seen the rise of anonymous social networks like Secret. Anonymous content certainly has its place. It gives voice to those with something valuable to say who for whatever reason can't risk their reputation by putting their name behind it. The Federalist Papers were famously published by Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison anonymously. Was there ever a better collection of thoughts on governmental theory?
I recently met with a startup founder focused on an "anonymous social network for positivity." They had built a cool app that was out in the wild and had some good ideas. The anonymous space is hot right now. Yet, positivity is not usually what people want to use anonymity for. Usually they want to use it for negativity. Think Reddit, 4Chan, black-hat hackers, and violent flash mobs.
I used to believe that the future of the Web was anonymity. The Web boom of the '90s focused on anonymous content consumption. The '00s were all about signed content creation (think Facebook, YouTube). I thought the third era would be a combo of the two - anonymous content creation. But anonymous content creation has its limits. We want to trust our sources, so we need to know who they are. We want to connect with other people, not just ideas.
For most long-form writing, for all of the reasons stated above, you should sign your work. That's what I've come to believe and that's what I'm now going to practice. I think Poemz and Secret are great platforms for short-form expression. I think long-form expression should usually be coupled with ownership/authorship. Especially, if it wants to be taken seriously. And I do.