Isis the Scientist's Rules for Pseudonymous Blogging ]

There's a buzz about the blogosphere today. Frequent commenter and friend of the blog Damn Good Technician has had to close up shop after being outted by the powers that be at Big Pharma. They were apparently unamused with the candor of DGT's blog. Many of us choose to write under pseudonyms and I think it is a damned shame that Big Pharma reacted so poorly to DGT's blog. I think that blogs play very important roles in community building, information sharing, and mentoring. Also, some of them are hilarious. While blogs are becoming more mainstream in science, which is usually 5-10 years behind popular culture, the fact remains that many don't see their value. Worse, some view them as a waste of time or harmful to the institutions the bloggers represent. These people potentially have the ability to impact our careers. Some choose to blog pseudonymously in order to discuss things they would not be comfortable having linked to their name in a trivial Google search. I think there is absolutely nothing wrong with that, provided one does not forget the thin veil pseudonymity provides. I think that people who choose to out pseudonymous bloggers are asshats who appreciate nothing more than their narrow view of the universe. But, that is not the only reason to blog pseudonymously. I choose to blog as "Isis the Scientist" instead of under my real name because it is my desire to keep my work and blog lives separate. Even though some may have tried to guess who I am, I do not want to give the impression that it would ever be acceptable to approach my real-life self uninvited at a meeting or after a talk to speak with "Dr. Isis." I love my bloggy peeps, but research time and family time are precious to me, and I try to guard it as fiercely as I can. I keep my Isis the Scientist email separate from my MRU email and don't co-mingle my domains. Figure 1: Dr. Isis guards her science time and is totally hot while doing it. Also, her shoes are amazing. That said, I know that many of you are new pseudonymous readers to this blog and may not have been around for the previous talk about pseudonymity in the blogosphere. I thought I would share the rules I try to live by when it comes my bloggy shenanigans. Read the rest of this post... Read the comments on this post