Sense on Cents

Why would a blogger remain anonymous? In doing so, isn’t the credibility of his writing seriously compromised?

Blogs are exploding in popularity as the public becomes increasingly disenchanted with large parts of the mainstream media. The ability to read unique, informed, and original content seems to me to be the foundation for any quality blog. That said, I believe that foundation is compromised behind the veil of anonymity.

I can understand that not every blogger cares to reveal his/her identity. Perhaps those remaining anonymous have professional relationships which would be compromised by going public. For these individuals, the benefit of remaining private is greater than the cost of going public. That said, I believe the impact of their message is lessened because readers are not able to determine if the writer has a hidden agenda.

I address this topic given an article in yesterday’s New York Post, Blogger May Have a Past:

A 30-year-old New Yorker who was barred from the securities industry last year may be behind an increasingly popular financial blog known as Zerohedge.com, which is catching flack for its obsession with anonymity.

Daniel Ivandjiiski, whose most recently listed address is on the Upper East Side, was barred last September by the financial industry’s self regulatory authority, FINRA, for insider trading.

Ivandjiiski is also suspected of being one of the founders of controversial financial blog Zerohedge.com, sources tell The Post.

Ivandjiiski didn’t return requests for comment, but he recently told industry publication Hedge Fund Alert that while he writes for Zerohedge, he’s not a founder.

“He denied that he was a founder. He said he was just a contributor,” Hedge Fund Alert Managing Editor Howard Kapiloff told The Post.

Congratulations to Zerohedge for developing a following. I read their work and they write some interesting material. I also impose a real discount given the fact that they are not willing to put their true names on their work.

Having worked in the financial industry for 23 years and witnessed plenty of situations where individuals and firms were fined or otherwise penalized, being barred from the industry is a fairly rare occurence.

Perhaps that provides at least a partial explanation for Zerohedge’s anonymity.

LD

This entry was posted on Saturday, August 22nd, 2009 at 8:22 AM and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.