Why do we hide behind pseudonyms, and what is our fascination with them?

If everyone had to register on a number of portals using their full names, self-written (by businesses), anonymously written and non-classifiable (so-called fake reviews) wouldn’t even be possible in the first place.

An interesting article was published not long ago on Google+, which has blocked pseudonyms. Google only allows the use of “genuine” (or genuine-sounding) names and initially even locked accounts that didn’t fulfill this requirement. See the following article for further information. 

Data protection laws have been clamping down with increasing force and thereby offer individuals the possibility to submit reviews anonymously. As a private individual, one is protected thereby from improper access, yet as a hotelier it’s hardly possible to effect or to change much with commentaries that really are important and constructive.

If you don’t know who the author of a given review is, it’s not possible to ascribe a room number to the case and to correct any defects in the room right away. A firsthand report on a restaurant without the guests’ names or date visited enormously complicates attribution.

Why do people decide to remain anonymous rather than giving their full names?

There’s surely a healthy portion of self-protection behind remaining anonymous. After all, you’re not exactly happy if your entire life history is accessible at the click of a button.

If you query your own name in a search engine, you’d in part be amazed to discover just how much information about you is already stored. Expanding this information with your most recent vacation or restaurant visit is not everyone’s cup of tea.

What, then, helps more than pseudonyms and anonymity?

 To enable fair interchange between guests and hotels, the Schick Hotels have decided on the system by Customer Alliance. More on this system in a future blog post.

Article image source: our Dir. Peter Buocz