Some of the comments in another thread got me to questioning the whole Online Identity thing so I'm hoping to get some feedback here.

It seems to me that a large number of successful bloggers tell us they are using their real names, and they have photos of themselves (supposedly) posted on their blogs. Many do videos as well where we see them talking. They say that being "real" is one of the major keys to their popularity/success.

I've gone back and forth on this myself for some time and had finally decided that the new trend and best way to succeed online is to be "real". To use your real name, photo, and if you are doing a more personal type blog, talk about yourself and your life (without revealing anything that could potentially jeopardize your safety, of course). I made this decision based on what the new trend seems to be with other bloggers, but now I'm noticing other successful online marketers/bloggers who are using their own names have said if they had it to do over they'd use a pen name. This has me second-guessing again.

It seems like people are wanting to see a real person behind a website/blog anymore. They want to "get to know you" on some level before making a purchase or getting involved in some other way. Personally, I'm turned off by websites that don't have what I "believe" to be a real name and photo. With blogging, over time you can generally get a "feel" for who a person is/what they stand for just by reading and you mentally connect the name and photo of the person to that feeling. Over time, as you read/follow more, you get more comfortable with that "person" or the site/blog. The more comfortable you are, the more likely you are to heed advice, post a comment, and/or make a purchase.

We've all heard it said many times that people do business with people they know, like and respect. (Even if the "person" is just an illusion, the results are the same.) The key words there, to me, are: people... know... like... respect. People want to do business with people... not words, graphics and buy buttons. They want to feel like they "know" the person they are dealing with, at least on some level. Of course, they have to like them, otherwise they probably wouldn't purchase anything. Respect is also very important, and this has to be earned, I think.

Considering all this, I would think a photo (at the very least) would be critical to success online. Posting that photo, however, seems erase all anonymity.

Also, how can you be "real" if you use a pen name? And what good is a pen name (if you are using it for safety/security reasons) if you post a photo of yourself on your site and are posting videos of yourself? But nowadays you almost have to do video to get people's attention.

I'd love to get everyone's thoughts on all this.

Plus, what if you are not 30 something and gorgeous? What if you're 85, bald and wrinkled and you think your photo would hurt your site rather than help it? In that case, the same would be true of getting in front of a video camera, so how would you address that?

Thanks! - Chris2 (who, btw, is not 30 something and gorgeous, but not 85, bald and wrinkled either )