Google+'s name policy

Here's a problem. Theoretical case: My wife wants to keep her name, photo and real identity off of the public Internet. But she also wants to use the Internet to stay in touch with real life friends and family. *And* she has a husband who wants to use Google+ as a public blog platform. So if she posts a comment on one of my public blog posts, boom, the jig is up and the entire Internet has found her.

Said another way - If folks in your circles (including writers, celebrities, gurus) want to post anything publicly, you can't *ever* comment on those posts unless you want the entire Internet to know your real name, and _have Google searches go to your Google+ profile_. 

In fact if you really do want to keep your real name hidden from the entire googleable Internet, and folks you have in circles display who follows them (which everyone does), you likely shouldn't even have them in circles. That is, you can't use Google+. At all.

Okay....... Let's back up......

Here is Google+'s name policy - 
http://www.google.com/support/+/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=1228271

In short, you can't use a pseudonym or make any attempt to be anonymous or your account can be banned. The reasons are obvious - 1) Anonymous posts lead people to post like assholes, as it becomes cathartic venting rather than honest opinion, 2) trolling goes away if your friends, family, and coworkers will read it and know it was you, and 3) connecting with people on a social platform works better if you see them as real people with real lives and real interests/expertise.

Okay. Well. Ummmm. That's fine and all, but it's not how the Internet has worked since the early 70s. I've met many many bloggers and fellow forum posters, in real let-me-buy-you-a-beer life, where I have no idea what their real name is. We have broken bread. We have physically embraced. And even if they told me their real name I quickly forgot it. The fact is, after you spend years (going on decades in many cases) writing and sharing under a psuedonym and making a serious effort to prevent the entire Internet from having your real name, you *are* that pseudonym identity. I visit MetaFilter a lot, and I go to meet-ups. People at those real life meet-ups do not put their real name on the nametags, because that would be silly and counterproductive.

Also, a substantial percentage of the population has a very very good reason to want to communicate and share on the Internet without creepy people and bosses/coworkers being able to find them just by typing their real name into Google. And I suspect a substantial percentage of Americans will be 110% turned off by a service where random assholes will have access to both their real identities *and* their network of friends and family. To put it bluntly, the way Google is setting this up is potentially and legitimately dangerous, frightening, and unacceptable for many many people.

I understand what Google is trying to do. And their motives seem completely legitimate. And I really like Google+. But so far I see a huge problem with the names policy if they expect this to be a social platform everyone can participate in. It's creepy. Full stop.

I hate to just whine without offering my opinion about solutions. So here is my possible solution - Let people use a pseudonym as part of their profile. They can then opt to have their real name displayed using the same options they can opt to have their email, phone and address displayed. So, for example, friends and family circles will see the real name, people in other circles or the public will see the nickname or pseudonym. That has worked for most (all?) of the history of the Internet, I see no reason why it wouldn't work now.

And I know this causes other problems in terms of processes and functionality. Like how do old friends find you without searching for your real name? But Google has smart people, so I've heard, they'll find a solution if they want to.

The idea that strangers and creeps knowing your real name is best is a Facebook idea. And it's slightly insane. The world doesn't work that way. And of course..... We're leaving Facebook to come here for a reason. Right? I see Google fixing many of the obvious Facebook problems with Google+. It would be nice to see them fix this one as well.

Time to get serious about Google+ circles

One of the best things about Google+ is the ability to give different people different access to your posts. But you might want to plan now so you don't have to reorganize everything after you have a mass of people in the default circles. So I'm mapping out a few ideas. Here is the plan so far.

0.0 Me only
0.1 Household
1.0 Immediate family
1.1 Extended family
1.2 "Like family"
1.3 Family....... /facepalm.
2.0 Very close friends
2.01 Friends with benefits
2.02 Friends who will help bury a body.
2.1 Just friends
2.2 Not really friends, but don't let them know I said that.
2.3 Not friends. At all. But there, you're in a circle. Have fun with that.
2.4 No longer friends. But they know....... bad things.
3.0 Coworkers
3.01 Coworkers who can borrow my stapler.
3.02 Coworkers who won't blab to the boss.
3.03 Coworkers to warn before shooting up the place.
3.1 Coworkers I pretend to like.
3.2 Coworkers best lied to at all times.
3.3 Coworkers who need to be in a circle so I don't shatter some VP's delicate sense of worth.
3.4 Old coworkers, fondly remembered.
3.41 Old Coworkers I was happy to have lost touch with. Was...
4.0 People who should likely be hidden from everyone else.
5.0 Friends on the Internet.
5.1 Strangers on the Internet.
5.2 People on the Internet to keep a suspicious/worried eye on.
6.0 Internet folk to follow because they're interesting.
6.1 Internet folk to follow to look cool and savvy.
7.0 Networking contacts: employment
7.1 Networking contacts: hobbies
7.2 Networking contacts: drugs, bombs, hookers, etc.
8.0 Warcraft guild members who found me despite all efforts.
8.1 SCA, D&D, ComiCon, freak contacts.
9.0 Hobbies: Photography
9.1 Hobbies: Cooking
9.2 Hobbies: Technology
9.3 Hobbies: Porn
10.0 Childhood friends
10.1 High school friends
10.2 College friends
10.3 Drinking buddies
10.4 People I met in the checkout line.
11.0 Tacos.

Let's kick the tires......

How does it handle photos?

How about links?

MetaFilter, Jon at Google+

Text formatting?

In short, you can't use a pseudonym or make any attempt to be anonymous or your account can be banned. The reasons are obvious - 1) Anonymous posts lead people to post like assholes, as it becomes cathartic venting rather than honest opinion, 2) trolling goes away if your friends, family, and coworkers will read it and know it was you, and 3) connecting with people on a social platform works better if you see them as real people with real lives and real interests/expertise.

Okay. Well. Ummmm. That's fine and all, but it's not how the Internet has worked since the early 70s. I've met many many bloggers and fellow forum posters, in real let-me-buy-you-a-beer life, where I have no idea what their real name is.

Here a blog, there a blog....

Since I suspect Google will eventually do something to integrate Blogger into Google+ to give it added functionality as a blog platform, maybe I should get up to speed on Blogger. Let's see what happens if I click...... this.