A spot of advice for blog-watchers...

Those who read this blog doubtless also keep tabs on the excellent Scatterplot, a group blog manned by a coterie of sociologists that are, without question, smarter than I am. As such you may be familiar with a recent post that asks a question of great importance to all of us pseudonymous bloggers:

How the heck does the blogger meeting at ASA work? If we are trying (probably in vain) to remain anonymous, how exactly do you meet face-to-face and talk about blogging?

Indeed, this is a significant issue given the growing tradition at the ASAs of bloggers gathering, downing a few, and generally discovering what we really look like in real life. Yet, for those of us who wish to preserve our mild-mannered secret identities, this is a real quandrary. How to participate and, yet, not be outed?

You can read the comments over on Scatterplot for several ideas but yli had an interesting notion:

why don’t you come as drek? (i mean drek as in total drek, not the generic drek.) i think all the anonymous bloggers should just pretend to be each other and have fun with it…

Flattered as I was by this suggestion, I think that I managed to improve on it ever so slightly during my own remarks:

At my first Blogger shindig my anonymity was blown pretty quickly. As Jeremy indicated, however, there is a pretty strong norm about protecting the anonymity of other bloggers. I’ve never known another blogger to sell me out and have myself taken steps to warn other pseudonymous bloggers of possible slips in their own facade. I think the biggest risk isn’t that someone will knowingly out you, but that they will let slip some detail they learn which will end up outing you. All that said, Jessica’s solution is probably the best: go as a reader, not a writer. If you really want to, reveal your secret identity to a select few you trust.

That said, if you’re really worried about it I think that we should adopt a modified version of yli’s solution: let’s just all go as Drek (i.e. me)! It’ll be a lot like that scene in the remake of the Thomas Crowne Affair. The only snag I foresee is that we’ll have a nearly impossible time finding that many pairs of buttless chaps. [links original]

So, I'd just like to make this invitation even more general than it already is. For all you pseudonymous socio-bloggers out there who are nervous about attending the ASA get-together, please feel free to masquerade as the infamous El Dreko. If enough of us do it we will have achieved a superb level of protection for minimal difficulty.*

Many of you might be wondering, however: Will you be there, Drek? Honestly, I have no idea. My travel plans are up in the air. I might be there but there are sadly no guarantees. With luck, however, and a little help from y'all, I may manage to be there multiple times.

And how cool is that?


* Granted, right now we look to be protected by the simple expedient that a date/time/location for the shindig have not been finalized. Nevertheless, with Tina on the case, I have little doubt that this obstacle will soon be removed.