Friend Friday: Blogger Privacy (and a question of Anonymity)

Do you remember the last time you saw a high fashion shoot where the model's face was completely obscured?  No?  

It's an unusual approach, to say the least.  A faceless model and a faceless photographer. 

Yet this is exactly what you will find in Italian fashion brand Patrizia Pepe’s AW 2010/2011 Ad Campaign entitled “Who is Patrizia Pepe?”

The campaign captured my attention for a number of reasons.  It is unique.  It is whimsical.  It is curious.  It is beautiful.  And it is anonymous.  

It is the campaign's anonymity that truly resonates with me.  Most of you know that I have decided to keep this blog anonymous for a number of reasons (last discussed here).  I have decided to revisit the topic here because this week's edition of ModlyChic's "Friend Friday" is all about blogger privacy! 

1. Do you think privacy is something we should worry about as bloggers?  I think privacy is something everyone who is on the internet needs to worry about, not just bloggers.  People who use social networking sites like twitter and facebook, flickr, etc. should also be concerned with exactly how much information private information they may be making available to the general public.
   
   
   
2. Do you use your real name or a pen name? What was behind that decision? When I decided to start my own blog I knew that I did not want to use my real name.  Why?  Have you ever googled yourself?  I have.  I have an extremely unique name, so if someone google's it - they find me. Right away.  The search doesn't yield a ton of info. about me.  However, it includes where I work and other details.  Details I don't want to share with everyone who might come across my blog. 
   
   Instead, I thought long and hard until I was able to come up with a blog name that I felt would describe not only the blog - but me as well.  That is how "Beautifully Invisible" was born.
   
   
3. How much personal information do you reveal about your life beyond the blog?  The internet is a funny thing. It's very nature encourages us to reveal and to feel safe doing so. But we have to be responsible about what we reveal.  I reveal what I consider to be non-descript things about my personal life.  I've revealed that I recently went through a breakup.  I reveal the way that made me feel.  I've revealed places I shop and the city I live in.  I've revealed that I am a fundraiser and I've revealed a number of my interests.  I probably reveal even more random facts via twitter, and I know I'll reveal more as the blog grows. 
   
   However, as I said, I try to keep these "reveals" non-descript.  When I think about my favorite blogs I realize that i feel like I "know" each of the authors, even though we have never met.  I hope that my readers get a sense of who I am through the way that I write and through the things I DO reveal, but they don't have to know every last fact about me. 
   
   I think that people who DO know me in "the real world" could easily figure out who I am from reading my blog.  There are enough clues to my identity that are spread throughout various posts.  However, at this point I hope I can still be interesting enough to my readers without revealing all.
   
   
   
4. What will you never reveal?  Right now I don't think I would ever reveal my real name and where I live/work. Everything else can be revealed in snippets, within reason.  Perhaps if my name was a bit more common I wouldn't be as hesitant to reveal my identity one day, but as of now its extremely unlikely!  That being said - I don't plan to keep it hidden from friends that I make via the blog.  I just don't plan to share it ON the blog.
   
   
   
5. As bloggers, we have to an extent made ourselves 'public' figures. But still there are things that are intimate to each of us that does not need to be known by anyone that stumbles across our blog. How do you determine what is appropriate for public consumption and what is private to you?  This goes back to what I was saying above about posting non-descript things.  I think it is important that your readers have a sense of who you are as a person.  It makes you more real to them, and it helps you connect.  Some people may not care that I am sad because of a break-up, or that I may not be feeling well, or that Jon Bon Jovi is one of my long-standing crushes.  Yet each of those things gives you some insight into ME.  Yet, they could just as easily be about someone else.  An example of what is private to me is WHY my ex and I broke up.  That is something private that is between us.  If it's something that impacts another individual in my life - it won't be posted here. 
   
   Ultimately it's all just a judgement call, isn't it?  Some people are more comfortable sharing than others, and there is nothing wrong with that.  Each person - be it a blogger, facebook-er, or tweeter - has to decide for themselves what they are comfortable sharing.  What is "personal and private" to one person may be "public domain" to another.  Every person has to decide for themselves.
   
   

I think that I am in a different position than a LOT of the other fashion bloggers out there in that, since this isn't a personal fashion blog, I don't have to reveal my face.  Blogs like mine that tend to focus on editorials and photography lend themselves to being a bit more private.  No one is going to recognize me as "Beautifully Invisible" when I walk down the street in Cleveland.  The same can't be said for personal fashion blogs, and I would imagine that in itself adds a whole other layer to the question of blogger privacy.

What about you - what are your thoughts on blogger privacy?  How much do you share?

Note: This is my first contribution to ModlyChic's Friend Friday series.  If you are interested in joining, or for more information about how it works, click here.

Photoshoot Details:

Patrizia Pepe AW10/11 Ad Campaign

Model and Photographer: Unknown