Our man Adam Zand, not one to toot his own horn (but also never short of opinion either) has been the center of some recent speculation that he’s somehow deeply involved with a popular (read: infamous) anonymous PR blog. So some may find it ironic that he appeared on SixtySecondView back in April discussing the very topic of anonymity and blogging with David Brain, president CEO of Edelman Europe, while visiting London with his son.

For the rest of the universe unconvinced of any nefarious underworld connections and backroom blogging, he provides a well-rounded perspective from a damn good PR strategist on this obviously controversial topic.

For you see–not terribly bright Dr. Bloggers aside–anonymous blogging can serve a purpose, if its done in a well-intentioned manner and with an understanding of the limits of technology (and the ease with which people can put two and two together).

I really don’t want to keep harping on this topic, but I will anyway. To quote a post I made back in April on the topic of agency ghostblogging, I wrote:

It really comes down to whether you agree with Marshall McLuhan, doesn’t it? Is the medium the message here? Is calling something a blog, or using blog technology, an implicit adoption of a … communications code of standards that is somehow different that that which is applied everywhere else?

Or is it, as I would argue, just another communications vehicle for individuals and corporations? That the same rules should apply to blogs as to any other communication vehicle. That the blog is not a sacred cow–and let’s be honest it hasn’t been for a long time now–but that it needs to be treated with the same code of standards as afforded other communications vehicles.

There’s very little transparency in an anonymous blog, is there? Is it, then, in violation of the blogging spirit/ethic? It it indeed still a blog? The answers, I would argue, are “maybe (but so what?)” and “yes” respectively.

Is there a time and place for anonymous blogging? Yes, absolutely–if it’s done in a well-intentioned and responsible way.

I think Adam presents a good case for finding a middle ground here. Highlights of his comments:

• It’s all about the conversation, but some people are shy in conversations
• They may not want to identify themselves–what about the whistleblowers, for instance?
• There should be some protection for anonymous blogging
• We’d miss out on a lit of interesting conversations if we couldn’t be a little anonymous–say in Second Life
• We’re getting too reactionary and polarizing with these statements about bloggers’ code of conduct, etc.–we’re limiting the conversation, not helping it!

By the way, I love this Microsoft video that David Brain links to:

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