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Karen,
I would have written you off list but I suspect that there are others out there who need the same advice.
There are many good reasons to attach one's name and identifying information in a public forum such as a PhD-Design listserv post.
One is that it might impress someone that you're the Wilkin Hensforth Abottsford Jones Honored Chair of Design Ontology at the University of Raphael's School of Athens but the sad news is (a) most people don't know enough to be suitably impressed and (b) many other people have been around unimpressive people with impressive titles enough that they know to reserve their awe.
Another is that it is the fair thing to do. A few years ago, there was a major blow-up at Design Observer when Steven Heller wrote a piece condemning anonymous/pseudonymous comments. (It's at http://observatory.designobserver.com/feature/whats-in-a-name/6417/ .) It was interesting that some people claimed that it was unfair that they would be vulnerable to personal scrutiny--it was their ideas not their identities that counted--and then went on to make personal snipes at Steve. I believe that their claims about the power dynamic were, in fact, upside down. Those of us posting who had well-known public records were (rightly) shackled to our previous assertions and accomplishments.
It would be unfair of me to, say, challenge Don Norman in public (as I have done on [rare] occasion here) without giving him some way of asking "Who is this guy?" because I have the advantage of years of reading an thinking about his writing and that of his associates and, until recently, he had no idea who I was or whether he had reason to care what I think.
There are a bunch of related reasons about social dynamics of conversations but I'm probably not the best person to make those arguments. Although I understand the appeal of the "pure ideas/no identities" conversation, my experience is that they are not as satisfying (socially or intellectually) as the whole thing sounds. (I now find myself thinking of the major theme of the unfortunate 1970s hit novel -Fear of Flying.-)
There are some others but I'll cut to the chase: The reason you should identify yourself is that it will benefit you. Somewhere in this exchange I thought "Oh. This Karen is Karen Fu." I have to say that my vision of who you are in PhD-Design context is fuzzy but I know that you have said interesting things here in the past. That starts to add up to--and I hope you won't find my seeming to compare you to automobiles or canned soup too crass--a brand. Over time, that will be valuable to others in several ways and it will be valuable to you.
Note, for instance, that Steve Heller does not have much in the way of an academic "string of badges" (as you put it.) He has, however, written, co-authored, and edited more design books than any five randomly selected regular contributors to this list (and did most of them while working full time as an art director.) The power perceived by others in the Design Observer post I mentioned was built by Steve having put himself out in the world. There was some irony in people saying "I can't argue with Steve Heller because he's famous and I'm not so I won't reveal my identity" when, almost by definition, fame comes from repeatedly revealing some significant aspect of one's identity.
Nobody is universally admired and respected but nobody who is unknown is admired or respected at all. No; you are not invisible. But making yourself more visible could be good for the conversation and will likely be good for you in the long run.
I understand some ambivalence about appearing to strut around wearing a chest full of campaign ribbons (and about those who appear to be doing so.) I post to this list on my email account rather than my university account for various reasons, including that fact that I am writing as an individual rather than as a representative of East Carolina University. Until recently, I didn't include my university affiliation in my sig on PhD-Design posts for some of the same reasons. I finally realized that we were working very hard to build a strong graphic design program here and that getting our name out in the world is part of the process of getting recognized. (Getting recognized helps bring resources and support, making recognition a self fulfilling prophecy of sorts.)
And putting ECU in my sig is cheaper than trying to buy lunch or a drink for an editor at "Business Insider," let alone for everyone on the listserv.
Gunnar
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Gunnar Swanson
East Carolina University
graphic design program
http://www.ecu.edu/cs-cfac/soad/graphic/index.cfm
Gunnar Swanson Design Office
1901 East 6th Street
Greenville NC 27858
USA
[log in to unmask]
+1 252 258 7006
http://www.gunnarswanson.com
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