Anonymous

A few bits this week, all unrelated, have me thinking about my identity and how much I have in the public perview.

When I started broadcasting in 1989, I used my real name. My rationale at the time was that my name was so unique, no one would think it was real. It was a horrible decision, since I had more than a few stalkers in my stints with 94.5 the Edge and MIX 102.9. Nothing life-threatening, mind you, but some of it got a little scary.

Talking to a friend who writes an anonymous blog, they said that they had to guard what they said in everyday life. Since they write so much brutal, life-changing honesty in their blog, if they mention in passing something in said blog they could then be identified. With me, it's the opposite -- I have to guard what I say in the SwampLog to try and preserve some shreds of privacy, since I don't have an anonymous persona.

The, this morning, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram printed a front-page story on the diet-aid company BodySolutions. In the lead of the story, and a caption of one of the photos, they printed the full name of your radio friend and mine, Jeff K. (It's a hack story, so I'm not posting the link to it. Trust me.)

There's a reason DJs don't use their real names on the air -- it's to (everyone say it with me) protect their privacy! Jeff has a wonderful family, and stuff like this just makes me cringe. Jeff says he didn't mind the gaffe, but I sure the fuck do.

After all of this, I am seriously considering changing my legal name to something other than Devin Pike. At least that way, I keep the persona I've built over the years, and might be able to salvage a bit of anonymity.

My friends would still call me Devin, I guess. But, then again, someone would out me as being So-n-So, and it would start all over again.