Outing Mudflats: The Dirty Martini Philosophy

(3/29/09) The Alaska blogosphere is erupting like Mt. Redoubt after a State Representative outed the most popular as well as the most anonymous blogger in the 49th state.

The closely held identity of Mudflats, the king, or I should now say the queen of Alaska blogs, is no longer a mystery after State Representative Mike Doogan revealed the identity of the blogs proprietor in his Friday newsletter.

Not to get distracted from the real debate, which is whether or not bloggers have the right to remain anonymous, but the dust up began months ago when Mudflats reportedly took Doogan to task for his response to emails that encouraged him as a State Representative to press an issue that he had already declared dead.

In his Friday electronic newsletter, Rep. Doogan wrote:

"The identity of the person who writes the liberal Democratic Mudflats blog has been secret since the blog began, protected by the Anchorage Daily News, among others. My own theory about the public process is you can say what you want, as long as you are willing to stand behind it using your real name."

In response, Mudflats wrote on her blog:

"I didn’t tell anyone why.  I might be a state employee.  I might not want my children to get grief at school.  I might be fleeing from an ex-partner who was abusive and would rather he not know where I am.  My family might not want to talk to me anymore.  I might alienate my best friend.  Maybe I don’t feel like having a brick thrown through my window.  My spouse might work for the Palin administration.  Maybe I’d just rather people not know where I live or where I work.  Or none of those things may be true.  None of my readers, nor Mike Doogan had any idea what my personal circumstances might be.  But that didn’t seem to matter."

To Know Or Not To Know?

There is a bit of irony within the story of the outing of Mudflats; Rep. Doogan's right to free speech gives him the same right to out a blogger as the blogger has to try and keep themselves anonymous.

On the surface there are compelling arguments on both sides, but I come down on the side of personal choice. If you choose to remain anonymous, so be it.

Last Thursday night at the Alaska Press Club conference, I sat on a panel of bloggers who tackled the issue of anonymity and bloggers.

On one hand you had a great journalist like Tony Hopfinger, who argued that real reporters are forced to put their names on the articles they write, thereby accepting complete responsibility for them. It was moving to listen to his real life story about working at a daily newspaper in Idaho, covering the Arayan nations activities in the gem state, all the while getting death threats.

To some degree Rep. Doogan shares the same scars as a former journalist writing for the Anchorage Daily News. Doogan's columns often took politicians to task, including one that nailed me during my freshman year in the legislature, however readers always knew the source of the criticism, thus making Doogan accountable for what he wrote.
  

But there is one big difference in this comparison; bloggers aren't journalist. 

Having a blog makes me no more of a journalist than shooting hoops in my driveway makes me Larry Bird.

Having a blog simply means I'm a guy with time on my hands, thoughts on my mind and a computer within reach.

Also, the argument against anonymity ignores the fact that some of the most influential names who shaped America wrote pieces under pseudonymous.

In 1722 Benjamin Franklin began writing submissions under the fictitious name of Silence Dogood. In the book Benjamin Franklin, author William Isaacson writes, Dogood had been able to get away with an attack on hypocrisy and religion, but when James (Ben's brother) penned a similar piece under his own name in 1723, he landed in trouble. The General Court responded by forbidding James Franklin from publishing his newspaper, The Courant.

Franklin published fourteen articles under the Dogood byline that helped set the stage for the epic battle for both a free press and a country that cherished the right to freedom of speech so much, they put it down on paper as America's number one cherished right.

But the most glaring absence in this debate over the anonymity of bloggers is the consumer slash reader.

Blogs are a mixture of opinion and fact and while most responsible bloggers define where that line is, readers have a shared responsibility to establish the line as well. I trust my readers to employ their critical thinking skills to be able to reconcile what they read on my blog with their own beliefs and understanding. However, regular blog visitors tend to know exactly what to expect from their favorite blogs no matter if the blogger is known or not.

Blogs have often been called comfort food. Readers tend to seek out like minded opinions in a world of mixed messages and spin tactics to satisfy themselves like a warm mug of hot chocolate on cold winter night.

Blogs are also a commodity regardless of whether the host makes themselves known or not. If readers reject or disagree with the hosts views, they'll take their readership elsewhere.

Remember the age old question, if a tree falls in the forest and there is no one around to hear it does it make a sound? Well, if there is no one around to read your blog, it most certainly doesn't make a sound.

In a day and age where newspapers are crumbling in front of our eyes and the content is getting as thin as a paper towel, blogs provide a channel of information that is desperately needed.

Over the last year there has been a growth of fabulous Alaska blogs to fit a wide variety of political tastes.  Blogs like Alaska Dispatch, The Alaska Standard, Own the Sidewalk to name just a few.

But as with any product, only the relevant succeed.

So if your blog is generating millions of hits even though you are anonymous, it's because of what you're saying, not who you are.

Stuck In The Mud?

The story of the Mudflats blog is truly amazing. The blog was started less than a year ago and already the site has generated millions of hits and has grown an army of loyal followers across the world.

The blogs popularity has spawned Mudstocks, gatherings, where followers called Mudflatters, get together and celebrate the host and her daily blog content. The most recent Mudstock was held in Connecticut.

In the aftermath of her public outing by Rep. Doogan, Mudflats has announced she will step back and reassess her life in the blogosphere. It's safe to say her legions of followers are awaiting her next move with much anticipation.

I offer but one piece of advice to my fellow blogger; it's what I have embraced personally as my dirty martini philosophy.

Beginning in the mid-nineties my cocktail of choice was a dirty Grey Goose martini with double olives. In 2002, my wife and I were visiting our daughter Lauren at college in Texas when we decided to take in a movie.

A ways into the movie, the main character strolls up to the bar and orders a drink...a dirty Grey Goose martini with double olives. I sank in my theatre seat. My favorite drink had been outed. Not by man of the world figure like Sean Connery or an American icon like Al Pacino, but by Reese Witherspoon.

No offense, but there is a dramatic difference for a man between sharing the same taste in cocktails with a James Bond or a Micheal Corleone compared to a Melanie Charmichael.

I wondered if the next time I ordered my favorite adult beverage, would the bartender look at me and think I was getting my drink suggestions from the movie Sweet Home Alabama.

However, by the end of the film I was only wondering one thing; where could a guy get a dirty Grey Goose martini with double olives after a bad movie.

After all, some roads we enjoy traveling in life are just too important to allow others to change direction for us.

Mudflats shouldn't allow Rep. Doogan's revalation to change her direction. 

Blog on sister.