Science Fiction fans will catch the reference to the classic novel Ender’s Game. Demosthenes and Locke are the net personas of Peter and Valentine Wiggin, two brilliant children. The personas grow to dominate the political thinking of their time, while masking the identity of the children beneath.

On the Internet, nobody knows you’re a dog – and hardly anyone cares. The internet provides a level of anonymity. Of my regular readers, I believe that Bruce and Gene are the only ones that I’ve met. And only Gene really knows me.

Webloggers have considerable control in how much of their lifes is revealed. If they choose anonymity, then that is generally respected. Our visibility into their lives is generally limited to their archives. And if they choose to hide behind a false identity, then our ability to detect that is very limited.

In contrast, journalists spend their professional lives in public. We expect to know their background, and we expect them to declare potential conflicts. They have lives that cannot hide.

Series Index at Blogging and Journalism.