NQC 07: Anonymity is not for me
This morning, Doug Harrison wrote an interesting post about the advantages of anonymity. Even though we know his name most of us do not know his face. He is concerned that the bloggers conference will increase his public profile, and that people will start recognizing him. He says that his style of writing is best done by someone who does not know the people being discussed, and he’s probably right.
I’ve chosen a different course. I have posted my name and photo on the main page of this blog because I say very little here that I would not say directly to a performer. Sure, things go wrong once in a while, but I always say that gently and point out the positive aspects as well. I guess you could say that I’m a performer myself, though not in Southern Gospel. I do various seminars related to my books, so I know what it’s like to try to win the audience over, or to have an off night. So while I do not approach this blog as an industry insider, I’m in a related field.
There’s a certain freedom in this openness. As Doug Harrison knows well, whether or not you want to it is practically impossible to remain completely anonymous in the tight-knit community that is Southern Gospel. Since I am completely open about who I am and what I think, and since I don’t say anything if I cannot find anything good to say, I have nothing to fear when an artist recognizes me at his product table and says, “Say, I saw your post the other day…”
Comment by Donna (September 12, 2007, 6:45 am)
I’m like you, Daniel. I try to never say anything destructive or anything that I wouldn’t say directly to somebody’s face. But I do understand the advantage of anonymity in some cases. Like the food critic that visits restaurants “under cover” so that he will be treated just like other customers and thus be able to give a more realistic review. It may also be that if everyone that he might write about knew who Averyfineline (Doug Harrison) was, there MAY be some “kissing up” to get good reviews. Just a thought.
Comment by Tammy (September 12, 2007, 9:41 am)
Avery never pats himself on the back or flaunts his doctorate, but his scholarly writing has always hinted at these qualifications:
http://www.fgcu.edu/CAS/Departments/LL/911.asp
Comment by natesings (September 12, 2007, 10:25 am)
I always pictured him as older, he appears to be close to my age.