To Be or Not To Be (an Anonymous Blogger)

In many instances, I would have liked to have maintained an anonymous blog in which, in parallel, I could expound on some of the truly unique experiences of being a female professor in a technical field. Of course, one could assemble and compile such ruminations and ultimately write them all up in a memoir, which probably would not be anonymous.

One has choices: to write an anonymous blog (in which case it is then easier to admit comments) or to write under one's name (and to allow comments or not).

Two of my favorite anonymous blogs are: FemaleScienceProfessor and Transportation Research 101, written by "Safetea Lu." The former blog is written by a female full professor at a major research university, whereas the latter is written by a transportation professor (whose name I think I have figured out). Both of these blogs have unique features and speak to the reality of being an academic researcher and teacher. Both are informative and entertaining. In fact, some of the musings of Safetea Lu on Massachusetts and transportation research I found very interesting.

As for blogs that have names associated with them, some of my favorites can be found at: alltop operations research. I also recommend Professor David Levinson's blog and, of course, Tom Vanderbilt's blog. Professor Levinson is scheduled to give a seminar at Northwestern University on January 21, 2010. I will be at Northwestern at a symposium but one week later. Tom Vanderbilt, the author of the terrific book, Traffic, spoke in our Speaker Series at the Isenberg School last year. Yesterday, my husband marched to our local cafe in North Amherst, the Cushman General Store. There he joined two of his friends who were having a hearty breakfast and the conversation was about Vanderbilt's book and a discussion on safety and rules and regulations ensued. This is a mark of a great book and speaker -- months and years after, the audience still finds insights gleaned for discussion!