https://marco.org/2009/03/26/i-never-get-in-any-trouble-when-i-talk-about
I never get in any trouble when I talk about coffee, headphones, and Apple. It’s a shame that there are so many problems with the reality of trying to discuss much of more substance under my real identity with a nonzero readership.
I probably just need to start using more options between discussing something with a few friends (audience: 5 people with terrible memories) or blogging about it here (audience: a few thousand, plus permanent and complete archival, tied to my name forever). I enjoy writing under my real name, but sometimes it feels like I’m running for President on the Democratic ticket against Karl Rove and the Clintons and I know that they’re going to dig up any missteps that I’ve made and turn around everything I say to make me into a monster or an idiot or a shithead. Instead of creating a scandal for the cable news networks, we create petty blog fodder for Denton and Arrington to wield against us in a barbaric rush for a handful of pageviews worth 13 cents.
In a way, audiences and recognition hinder those who achieve them. Sometimes it’s better to have fewer, more forgetful readers.