Welcome to the Book Blogger Hop,
hosted by Billy @
This Week's Question
Do you agree or disagree with this
statement: "A blogger's first name
should be in a prominent space
on his/her blog"?
(Submitted by Elizabeth @
My Answer
This is certainly something that can be pretty frustrating. Since we bloggers (whether we blog about books or not) belong to a blogging community, it stands to reason that we would all want to know how to identify those who are nice enough to comment on our posts. So, in principle, I would tend to agree that bloggers should make it easy for visitors and commenters to find out just who they are, and that this information should either be visible in the blog's sidebar, or on an "About Me" page.
Having stated this, I can also understand that some bloggers might prefer to remain anonymous, and thus, not use their real names on their blogs. This could be for any number of reasons, and is something that should be respected. However, such bloggers could nevertheless use some sort of name -- perhaps a nickname, or "pen name", or whatever. It just becomes pretty awkward to address someone by their blog name, lol. Like, "Hi, A Night's Dream of Books!" Lol.
Of course, no blogger should feel COMPELLED to use their real name, but a nickname, I think, should be good enough. In my case, I would use "TwilightDreamLover", if I had a mind to. That's how much I LOVE The Twilight Saga! Lol. Or, in honor of my OTHER literary love, I might use "HermioneWizard", or some such thing. :)
When I first started this blog, I DID use "TwilightDreamLover" for a while -- a VERY short while, though. I then decided to use my real name ("Behar" is my husband's last name). So, for this blog, I am really "Maria Behar", which I figure is easy to remember. Besides, I still have dreams of writing a book someday, so of course I will want to write with this name. (Although, who knows, I might decide to use a pen name, lol.)
Sometime back, I had my Blogger profile information in my blog's sidebar. Then I decided to create an "About Me/Contact" page, which is where I now have a short bio, as well as a picture.
I also have a "signature" at the end of most posts. You'll see it at the end of this post. The one exception to this is when I do a blog tour post. In that case, I always include the tour company's button at the end of the post.
I have to add that I really don't mind if someone doesn't use any name, not even a nickname. Yes, it does make things a bit awkward, but what I do, when I get a comment from someone with no name other than their blog name, is to address my reply as "Hi, there!". I think this works just fine!
Naturally, it's a different story entirely when a blogger is emailing a publisher or book tour company for an ARC to review. Then they need to use their real name. But that's between the publisher and/or the book tour company, of course.
Bottom line: I think that bloggers should feel comfortable doing what works best for them. Yes, having access to a real name or nickname is nice, but if a blogger chooses not to use one, then they will be "Hi, there!" to me. Lol.
By the way, one blogger I know uses the nickname "J9". This blogger doesn't want their employer to know that they blog, for whatever reason. So I address them as "J9". If they had chosen to go by their blog name, though, then you all know how I would have addressed this person. :)
What are your thoughts on
this topic?
If you're participating in this hop,
I'll go comment on your
own BBH post.
If not, I will then comment on one
of your blog posts!
Thanks for visiting!!!
